The Chrysalis
by 26Chapters
Summary: Goku can't break his promise to marry Chi-Chi, even when she insists that he's not bound to it anymore.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1, **A Good Man.**

* * *

'Hi, Yamcha…'

A bout of nervous giggles follow the greeting, and Goku especially, among his circle of laughing and joking friends, sharply turns his head to find the source of the interruption. It's not a case of him wanting to find out who called his friend exactly, it's rather that he's always found the giggling sound annoying. He already knows that it's Bulma calling Yamcha, but why does she have to giggle, is what he wants to find out.

To his surprise, however, when his head turns and he comes face to face with the only girl standing close to their circle, he finds that it's _not_ Bulma. Strange, he was sure it was Bulma who called Yamcha like that. From what he remembers, there had been times in the past when she called Yamcha in that strange way, in that strange low voice, in that same particularly strange tone…

And yet, the girl that he's looking at, is _not_ Bulma.

The girl who apparently called Yamcha, is a tall one, with big black eyes and long black hair, which are a big difference from Bulma's. Confused, Goku takes a brief look at Yamcha, to see if he knows who the girl is, because he sure doesn't. She looks like a nice person, well, at least, her face looks like that of a nice person's, but he doesn't know who she is. Or how she knows Yamcha. And that makes him curious.

'Yamcha?' he calls, but turns his face back to the girl. 'Who is this?'

By nature, he's a curious guy, who always wants to know everything around him. That's unless something doesn't interest him, of course. If something doesn't interest him, he couldn't be bothered to really learn about it, but for the things that do manage to hold his interest long enough, he gets particularly curious. Right now, he's curious about the girl.

'Huh?' he hears Yamcha wonder.

That's when he decides to face Yamcha again. The usual confidence in his friend's tone didn't sound as it always does when he speaks. It's like Yamcha's voice faltered without faltering. He wonders if Yamcha's okay; he seemed fine just a second ago when they were talking about their preliminary opponents.

'Yamcha!' Goku says to him.

Only blinking at first, Yamcha looks from Goku, to the girl, and then back to Goku, and once again to the girl, keeping his eyes on her.

'Um…' he clears his throat, which doesn't do anything for his voice anyway (Goku notes). 'Are you talking to me?'

'Yes, silly,' she answers, giggling again, even making her eyelashes do something funny.

Goku wonders if she's got something stuck in her eyes, that's making her do that with her eyelashes. It would make sense if she does have something in her eyes, because he's never seen someone do that before.

'You're Yamcha, right?' the girl asks Yamcha, a small smile on her face.

'Uh,yeah,' Yamcha answers unsurely. 'But, uh, I don't- I don't know who you are.'

'Oh,' she blushes, casting her eyes down to the floor. 'I suppose I have grown up quite a bit since the last time that we met. I'm the Ox King's daughter, Chi-Chi, remember?'

'Chi-Chi?' Yamcha seems to choke out.

Just then, Goku sees her lift her face again to give Yamcha a small nod, the small smile on her face turning into a pleasant one.

She looks really different smiling like that, Goku thinks to himself. It's like she changed into someone else, without changing at all. How does she change with a smile, Goku peers at her carefully, how does she look different and exactly the same at the same time, all because of a smile?

'Chi-Chi… wow,' he marvels, moving closer to her, 'it really is you, Chi-Chi.'

When she said who she is, he instantly remembered her, but with the way that her smile changed her, he couldn't bring himself together enough to react to her introduction; his curiousity for her smile, won over acknowledging her.

Huh, he studies her face, she looks so different from when they were twelve and fifteen, but he's not complaining. Over the years, he's remembered her here and there, and he sometimes wondered what had become of her. Bulma didn't change all that much over the years, except for arranging her hair differently and putting on that red lipstick thing on her lips, but Chi-Chi… Chi-Chi looks so different.

Frowning, she sets her eyes on him to ask, 'Hmm?'

'It's me, Goku, remember?' he happily holds out his hand.

The truth is, now that he's stopped thinking about how different she looks, he's quite glad to see her. He'd been planning to go and look for her once he won the Tournament, but here she is. It seems that she came to look for him instead; he likes that. He likes that she didn't forget what he owes her.

'Goku?' she wonders thoughtfully, beginning to study his face. It takes a little over five seconds, but she seems to recognise him, because her eyes grow even bigger and she cries, 'You're little Goku?' in disbelief.

Mostly overjoyed that she does really remember him, Goku nods vigorously, but then he notices that he also feels shy all of a sudden. As he always does when he feels even a little embarrassed, he rubs his index finger under his nose to display it. He doesn't know, when Bulma and the others marveled at his growth and changes, he didn't do anything but laugh at their surprise. But now, coming from Chi-Chi, he feels a little shy to be called 'little'. She hadn't been much bigger than him at the time.

'Yeah,' he chuckles lightly, trying to ease his shyness away. 'I guess I changed as well, just like you. I remember you being so much smaller, and um…' he quickly looks her up and down, 'wearing almost nothing, not like now. I guess you didn't like to wear clothes back then.'

Either he said something wrong, he observes, or what he said doesn't in any way interest her, because she looks at him like she just took a sip of that horrid coffee drink and like she suffered a horrible distaste, before huffing and looking around to Yamcha.

'Anyway, Yamcha,' she says, 'I still remember what you told me, and I was wondering if you still feel the same?'

Hmm, why did she do that? Why did she look around to Yamcha? He doesn't necessarily appreciate that she did that. Or that she's talking to Yamcha instead of talking to him.

'Huh?' is apparently all Yamcha is able to say.

He, on the other hand, or rather, his curiousity is once again roused, to know what she's talking about. First he thought that she came to find him, but every second that she opens her mouth to say something, it makes it seem like she didn't come for him at all. The strange thing is… he thinks that he doesn't like to know that? He's not sure, though.

Deliberately moving to plant himself in a position where Yamcha would be blocked from her view, he tries to get her attention by asking, 'What did Yamcha say to you?'

Again, like she actually swallowed that coffee drink, she turns her face to him distastefully.

'If you _must_ know,' she starts to tell him, a small frown developing on her forehead, 'he once told me that he was in love with me, and so I came here to find out if he would like for us to get married yet,' she finishes.

The thing is, he gets the feeling that she didn't want to tell him all that, but did it to make him stop talking to her. His suspicion is confirmed when she takes a step top her right, his left and puts on a glowing smile on her face to speak to Yamcha.

'My father already gave me his blessing, Yamcha. We can get married after the Tournament if you like.'

That smile again, he frowns. Okay, this one is a lot more different than that other one, but it still makes her look different, the good kind of different. But wait… so really she came here to find Yamcha, not him? He thought that she came here for him, to find him, so that he could keep the promise that he made.

In his earlier years, Goku didn't know what marriage was, but two years after training with Mr. Popo and staying in a village with a certain girl and her mother, he learned what marriage is, and what a wife is. Sure, he still doesn't get the whole gist of marriage and the like, but hearing that, made him remember his promise to the Ox King and his daughter.

'What?' he hears Yamcha let out hoarsely.

'But,' he spurts at the same time, only, he goes further than one word, 'your father promised me that I could marry you, if I found you. And I _did_ find you, and then we went to Master Roshi's together, remember?'

Maybe she forgot, he reasons, maybe she doesn't remember that promise, but that doesn't change the fact that he _does_ remember it, and that he _did_ make it.

'Goku…' she sighs as though she doesn't have energy.

'And oh,' he says animatedly, 'I remember, there was that time I was supposed to stay so we could get married, but I was in a hurry…'

Yeah, he probably should've stayed that day, but he really was in a hurry and he couldn't have stayed even if he wanted to. After finding out what marriage was, he's thought back to that day and wondered if he should've gotten married and made Chi-Chi his wife.

'I remember, Goku, but listen,' she tells him after another sigh, 'Yamcha once loved me, and… I'm sorry, Goku, I forgot you a while ago.'

'But…' he tries to protest, but again, she steps to her right again.

'So Yamcha, what do you say?' she asks his friend.

'It's about time for the first preminarily match,' the commentator loudly announces, bringing all of them to a halt, 'so get comfortable in your seats ladies and gentlemen, because up next, will be Tien Shinhan and Mercenary Tao.'

Following the announcement, is a little silence that gives Goku just enough time to turn around and face Yamcha, while having a good eye on Chi-Chi next to him.

'Hey, Yamcha,' Krillin seems to remember, breaking the silence, 'aren't you with Bulma?'

' _Shut up_ , _Krillin_ ,' Yamcha says through gritted teeth and a forced smile Chi-Chi's way.

'Oh, yeah,' Goku takes the opportunity, 'Yamcha's going to marry Bulma, so he can't marry you. And besides, I never break my promises, I am going to marry you.'

Not once in his life, has he ever gone back on his word. His grandfather always told him that a man who honours his word, is a good man, and since then, he's never been able to break from anything that he said.

'Are you serious?' Chi-Chi pulls a face, giving him a look that he can only describe as funny.

Even though he doesn't understand what her look means, he still nods for an answer, 'Uh-huh.'

'You want to marry me, because of a promise you made as a child?' she asks.

'Yes, I told you,' he answers, 'I always keep my promises. I was going to find you after the Tournament, so we can get married.'

And he really was going to find her. Sometimes, he forgets some things, but as soon as he remembers what he's supposed to do, he does everything in his power to fulfill his word. This isn't going to be any different, and besides, he never forgot that he promised to marry her, it's only that he's been busy all the while, that he never returned to her like he was supposed to.

'People marry for love, Goku,' she tells him, sounding a little annoyed, 'not to keep promises. You can't marry me if you don't love me.'

What? No one told him about that. Of course he doesn't love her. She hasn't been in his life as much as his friends have been, so she can't expect him to love her like he loves his friends. Still, though, a promise is a promise and if it takes loving her to keep his promise, then that's what he'll do.

'Oh, okay,' he relents, shrugging carelessly, 'then I promise to love you, and then I can marry you.'

For a second, Chi-Chi closes her eyes and pulls in a long breath. When she lets out the breath, she opens her eyes, following it with, 'You're impossible, Goku. Don't make promises you can't keep, because that's not how it works.'

He's heard that tone before, more often as a child than in his later years. That tone says that she doubts him, that she doubts his word. He's had so many people doubt him when he said that he would defeat them, and in the end, he defeated them all just like he said he would. He's accustomed to people doubting him, however, with Chi-Chi, coming from her, having her use that tone of doubt on him is… he doesn't even know really.

'I learn really fast,' he tries, 'so you can tell me how it works.'

'Forget it, Goku,' she waves him away, now sounding sad. 'I came here hoping to find Yamcha and start a family with him, but he already loves someone else. I should've expected that. I'm sorry,' she finishes with an apology.

Goku can't tell if the apology is for him, or for Yamcha, or even for herself, for apparently being disappointed, but he knows that he doesn't like that she's disappointed. He never likes it when people don't get what they want.

'No, wait… Chi-Chi,' Yamcha tries to appeal to her, but she shakes her head and begins to leave them.

Goku watches her leave for a few seconds, and then it hits him that he's not one to break his promises. Not only did he give his word that he would marry her, he just now promised to love her. If he lets her walk away, he'll be breaking both of his promises and that will disappoint his grandfather in heaven. It would make him feel bad about himself too, he adds as he continues to follow her with his eyes.

And then it hits him again, if he's going to love her like he loves his friends, she's going to have to stick around him for a while, and go on adventures with him. Also, she has a fight with him after Tien and Tao, so… he starts off after her. He can't just let her leave.

* * *

Chapter 2, **Broken Vow.**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2, **Broken Vow.**

* * *

'Chi-Chi, wait,' he calls after her as he runs after her.

He can't understand it, or rather, he can't understand her. Does a promise mean nothing to her? Does _his_ promise mean nothing to her? He's clearly someone that always honours his word, so why can't she believe him? He doesn't understand _that_ about her. And much more, he doesn't understand why she's not stopping, even though he's calling for her.

'Chi-Chi,' he tries again, his voice raising just a little.

He doesn't want to shout her name too loud and attract the attention of everyone in the hall, that's why he's not shouting the loudest that he can. However, when he sees that calling her name doesn't seem to be doing its job, he half leaps over the remaining distance between them, to catch up with her.

Once he's close enough behind her, he grabs her arm, and then suddenly stops his feet from moving. Along with his feet, his entire body goes rigid, and without meaning to, his hold around her arm tightens. Surprise is not exactly it, because he's been surprised before, and he knows how that feels like, but he would have to go with feeling surprise.

It's the feel of her skin that has him surprised. Still, he wouldn't say that he's surprised, but since he can't immediately think of a word to describe how he feels, he'll go with surprise. It's that he's never felt such skin before. All right, no, that's not true, he's felt female skin before, but the truth is, he's never felt a female martial artist's skin before. As far as he knows, martial artists have hard skin, not skin like this, like hers.

As though to confirm that she's really real, and really her, he makes his eyes travel up to her face. He finds her impatient expression waiting for him.

'Your skin is so soft,' he lets out, not necessarily to her, though.

He doesn't know, he expected her skin to be slightly rough and hard, but it's not. Her skin feels extremely tender under his hold, even more tender than cooked baby deer meat. Her skin gently yielded to his touch, curving inwardly, but stably enough for his fingers to follow it, just like a well calculated and executed attack makes its mark yield to it.

He didn't expect her skin to be like this, this soft, and because he didn't expect that, he can't seem to make himself let go of her. He's seen countless wonders throughout his travels, and her skin, feels to him like another one of the wonders that he's ever discovered in the world. A smile starts to curve his lips for the thought. It's something to smile about; discovering a wonder and he wants to share that smile with her.

While Chi-Chi does look at him, at seeing his smile, she purses her lips and then moves her eyes from his eyes, to his hand on her arm and then down to rest of him, without saying a word to him. Her eyes travel all the way back to his face, to his eyes specifically just as she lets out a sigh like the one she let out before.

Why is she sighing, he wonders, does she not like what he said? Should he tell her something else to make her smile?

'You're beautiful too,' he tells her, the same smile as before still on his face.

He's not only noticing that now, it's just that he didn't think he had to say anything about it to her. Going by his standards, he just didn't think it was important to tell her. In his reasoning, since he already knows that he's strong, when people tell him that he's strong, it doesn't really do anything for him. The truth is, he doesn't need people to tell him of his strength, because he already knows it. He wasn't going to say anything about her beauty, because he assumed that she like him, doesn't really need people telling her what she already knows about herself.

However, after realising that he couldn't get her to smile any other way, he decided to give this one thing a try. If he puts it in line with his reasoning, there have been times when people commended him on his strength and although he didn't really need their validation, it still made him smile, to have people make that observation.

'Please let go of me,' she finally says, stepping back from him.

She's still not smiling, he notices, his own smile starting to fade. What does he have to do to make her smile? She made him smile, or at least, the softness of her skin made her smile, so why won't she accept the same from him? All he wants to do now, is make her smile.

'Why won't you smile, Chi-Chi?' he asks, confusion starting fade into his being. 'Are you sad, or something?'

As far as he knows, when people are either sad or angry, it's extremely difficult for them to smile. She doesn't look angry to him. Even now that she's just staring at him, without giving him an answer, he can't say that she's angry.

'Come on,' he pleads in a child-like tone, 'you can tell me, and I promise to make you feel better.'

'There you go with your promises again,' comes from her mouth in a rush. 'You need to stop doing that.'

For good measure, she pries her arm free from his hold too, and then gives him the deadliest glare that he's ever seen on a girl. Bulma is the only girl that he's seen really get angry, but even she has never given him this kind of stare before. Unless he's mistaken, it looks like Chi-Chi wants nothing more than to keep punching him over and over.

Despite her deathly glare, he still won't give up on trying to find out what is wrong with her. For one thing, he's going to marry her, and for another, they have a match against each other next, and he would rather that she is happy when she fights him. That way, she'll be able to concentrate on her fighting, without being dictated by her emotions, to eventually slip up and lose for a stupid mistake.

'But I don't want you to be sad,' he passionately tells her. 'I don't like it when people are sad. I always want to help make them feel better.'

Chi-Chi's face, surprisingly breaks into a soft smile, except, the smile doesn't look inspired by happiness. He's seen a few people smile like that in the past, he's seen them smile, when their eyes and stories said more.

'Goku,' she gently starts, 'you seem like a really good person, but please leave me alone.'

And then just like that, she turns her back on his and begins to walk off. Whether it's the fact that she asked him to leave her alone, or whether it's due to her walking off without a proper goodbye, she leaves him feeling unsatisfied.

Again, he finds himself leaping to catch up with her,but this time, he stands in front of her to block her from moving forwards and leaving him there again.

'What?' she wants to know.

For a small second, he doesn't know how to answer that question, so he scratches his head. 'Uh…' What should he say to her? She already asked him to leave her alone, so… 'Uh,' he tries again, 'come and watch my friend's match with me, please?'

'No.'

It's a direct refusal, he notes, with no hints of curving for anything. Even her face says that she will not change her mind.

Hastily bringing his hand together to form a praying gesture, he asks again, 'Please.'

'I'm not in the mood, Goku,' her head shakes from side to side.

'You'll see,' he continues to insist, 'watching a good match will cheer you up. I especially like to watch fighting matches, because I get to assess strength in comparison to my own.'

Only after saying that, he realises that he shouldn't have told her that. He has no idea why he told her that, to be honest. When it comes to fighting, he's usually mum about his plans, even to his closest friends, but here he is, telling _her_ about his plan. Huh, he guesses that he really _does_ want to make her feel better faster, then.

Like before, Chi-Chi shakes her head. 'I'm sorry, Goku. I came here thinking that I would find a man who loves me and wants to marry me, but I didn't. I had my hopes _so_ high, but now they're all broken, and I'm just tired. Please leave me alone.'

So _that's_ why she's sad, he thinks. But it doesn't make sense, because-

'I said I'll marry you already,' he presses.

He looks directly into her eyes, for her to see his sincerity, to make her believe –like she didn't before- that he will keep his promise. It's important for him that she believes him, it just is.

'No one wants me,' Chi-Chi quietly says, casting her eyes to the floor.

He didn't hear what she said, and so he questions, 'What?'

'No one wants me,' she says just as quietly before. 'No one wants to marry a Princess. No one wants to marry a girl interested in martial arts. No one wants to marry an outspoken woman like me. No one wants to marry for less than love.'

Only then, after saying her say, does she bring her eyes back to his, for him to see that they're filled with tears just waiting to be shed. Not only did she sound defeated, really defeated, not even sad, really, really defeated, she's on the verge of crying too, and that makes him…

He can't say how seeing her like that makes him feel exactly, but it's enough to overwhelm him not to say anything in response to her words.

'All I've ever dreamed of,' leaves in a sob, 'is being someone's wife and having a big family, but no one wants me. _You_ didn't even want me when we were children, so how can I expect you to marry me now?'

Why does that feel like an accusation to him? It's not he didn't want to marry her back when they were children, because that's not it. To be fair, he probably would've married her at that age if he'd stayed. Without knowing the true meaning of it, but the truth is, even if he didn't want her back then, it would've been for lack of understanding, instead of plain refusal.

'But I already told you that I keep my promises,' he tries to reason with her. She has to see that the past is in the past, and the now is now. 'Look, I at least know what a wife is now, and I'm going to make you mine.'

She studies only studies him in silence at first, making him pull in his breath and keep it within him.

'I believe you,' she finally lets out softly.

Glad, he lets out his held breath in exchange for a smile. That she finally believes him, makes him glad. It's not like he's a liar, who says things for the sake of saying them.

'But like I already told you,' she continues evenly, 'you can't marry me for less than love. Goku, I had a girl's crush on you, I really did, but I… I really did forget about you after you didn't return for the wedding. You're not bound to your promise to me, or my father. You don't have to marry me. Now please, I'm going to the bathroom.'

While the tears that had been in her eyes disappeared, and that sad note in her voice in longer present, he can't help it feel like she's still sad. He can't help it feel like she isn't telling him how she really feels.

'Uh… okay,' he decides to accept nonetheless. 'I'll be waiting for you here.'

'No,' she sighs, 'go and watch your friend's match.'

'But I want to wait for you.'

'Suit yourself,' she says with a shake of the head, before turning her back on him again.

As he watches her go, this strange feeling, like a premonition of sorts, comes over him. Just like that day when Krillin was killed by Tambourine, and he had a strange feeling, he suddenly doesn't like that she's going to the bathroom.

'Chi-Chi,' he calls after her, but keeping his feet where they are. 'I'll be waiting here,' he promises once more when she turns back to him.

Little does he know, that he wouldn't see her return to this spot again, because she left through the small bathroom window, leaving him waiting there for her with nothing more than a broken vow.

* * *

Chapter 3, **Chasing Shadows.**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3, **Chasing Shadows.**

* * *

She's been in the bathroom a long time, Goku thinks to himself, so maybe he should go and check on her.

The thing is that if she doesn't come out soon, he might miss all of Tien's match, and he'd really like to go and watch that fight. He'd like to see just how much his friend has improved in his fighting technique, and also offer support just by being there, but for the fact that he promised Chi-Chi that he would be here waiting for her, he can't just make that move to leave, believing that she will easily understand his willingness to break his promise.

He can't just leave, he reminds himself, more to set his mind on staying here, no matter how much he wants to go and have a look at the match that's going on.

But if only she would come out, so that they could go together. He still thinks that her watching a match will cheer her up, because that never fails to set him in good spirits. He can't imagine a fighter not being interested to watch and evaluate a match. Being a fighter herself, he just knows in the deepest of his heart, that she will feel better after the match. It makes him feel better to know that she feels better, to be honest, so he really needs for her to come out of the bathroom for Tien and Tao's match.

'Goku,' an unfamiliar voice calls his name, making him turn to see who it is that wants his attention.

'Why aren't you watching your friend Tien's match?' the short man with glasses on his face asks him.

Although wearing a disguise, Goku knows that it's really Kami under there. Kami is, after all, the one who taught him to pay attention to a person's energy, so that he can identify one by it. He was clearly told that even though disguises mask a person's true identity, their energy, would never be able to be disguised. Lowered, yes, increased, yes, but the base of the energy that makes that particular individual up, would never be able to be masked.

'I'm waiting for someone,' he tells Kami, turning his attention back to the direction that Chi-Chi left in.

'She's gone,' Kami tells him.

He doesn't care much for what Kami as Hero means, not really, but he supposes that since Kami is here, he does have something that he wants to talk about with him, and that may be his way of working into that particular conversation.

Without facing his former indirect teacher, he asks, 'Who's gone? Gone where?'

'The young lady that you're waiting for,' is Kami's quiet reply, 'she has left. You won't find her in the bathroom.'

Oh, he's talking about Chi-Chi? Where did he get his information from, though, because it's not correct. Clearly, she didn't get out of the bathroom, otherwise he would've seen her.

'No,' he politely argues, shaking his head for effect, 'she's not gone. She knows that I'm waiting for her here.'

He can't even begin to be fazed or alarmed by Kami's words, because he clearly told her that he would be waiting for her right here. He expected that Kami would take his word for it and leave it, but instead, he lets out a sad sounding sigh.

'Come with me, Goku,' Kami says to him in a sad sounding tone as well.

There's really no reason for him to sound sad, at least, not as far as Chi-Chi is concerned. But perhaps, he's got it all wrong, and Kami is really sad concerning something else.

'Where?' he wants to know.

He made it clear that he wouldn't leave this place. If Chi-Chi comes out from the bathroom, to find that he's not here waiting for her like he said he would be doing, she's not going to feel good. No one likes to be lied to.

'Don't worry,' Kami assures him, 'we're going into the bathroom. There's something that you need to see for yourself.'

He respects Kami, really, he does, but right now, it just feels to him like Kami is more of getting in the way, than he is doing anything that's useful. It's for that respect, that although unwilling, he follows Kami's lead towards the bathroom, without refusing. Once they enter the ladies' bathroom, however, Kami already starts to push all of the stall doors back inside, to open them.

Every single one that Kami pushes open, reveals that Chi-Chi's not in there, the sequence following up until the very last stall has been opened, and no one appears to be seen in there either. Seeing that all the stalls are unoccupied, he opens his mouth to call for her once.

'Chi-Chi?'

He doesn't understand. He clearly didn't see her leave the bathroom, so where could she have gone? Also, she didn't tell him that she was leaving, so she couldn't have gone. Because of that reasoning, looking at the empty stalls, he can easily conclude what _really_ happened.

'Maybe she got confused and went into the men's,' he tells Kami.

That is more likely, than the idea of her having left. It's that his mind can't comprehend that she left, because she didn't tell him about anything like that. That's the most important thing to him. If it wasn't for that, he would be tempted to accept that she really left.

'She left, Goku,' Kami tells him, sounding more apologetic than sad like before.

He isn't saying the words aloud, and yet, Goku knows with certainty that Kami is really telling him the truth as it is, because he has that sense of seeing everything _if_ he wants to. Kami is someone that he can trust, but, maybe, this time, Kami is mistaken. Chi-Chi can't have left, even if he doesn't have a doubt that Kami's not lying to him.

From a time when they were younger than now, he remembers how she told him that as the Ox King's daughter, she always behaved, and could never be anything less than pure of heart. He also remembers that she could easily ride Nimbus, unlike anyone else that he'd met up to that point.

'But she didn't tell me that she was leaving,' he tries to reason with Kami.

It's true that he's talking to Kami, but deep inside, he knows that he's trying to get his mind to move away from the evident truth that came out of Kami's mouth, so that he can have some sort of hope to cling to. And there's still the fact that they have that match against each other after Tien and Tao.

Again in his apologetic tone, Kami starts with, 'Goku, my boy, this is a matter out of both our hands. She felt disappointed when your friend Yamcha couldn't agree to marry her.'

That's what it's about? She left because of Yamcha? Why did she do that, as though he didn't speak words of promise to her?

'But I said that I would marry her. I promised.'

Why does his promise suddenly feel worthless? He's beginning to doubt that a promise is meaningful, because it looks like Chi-Chi didn't value it enough to believe it. As he thinks about this, about if his promise is really worth nothing in truth, he feels Kami touch his shoulder.

'She loosed you from that promise, did she not?' Kami wants to know, but it sounds like he doesn't need him to answer anyway. 'You are no longer under any obligation to fulfill it. My suggestion, is that you let it go and focus on your fights. There is no point in trying to chase shadows, in chasing marks that aren't tangible.'

Whatever that last part means, he doesn't accept it. Sure, he doesn't understand what it really means, but he refuses to let it go as Kami is advising him to do. It's only that he doesn't want to argue with Kami, so he just nods and then starts to walk out of the bathroom to return to where his friends are watching the match.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'So…' Krillin nervously starts, 'where is uh… Chi-Chi?'

Having taken his standing place next to Krillin on his left side just a second ago, allowing Yamcha to remain on Krillin's right side, Goku looks at Krillin, feeling a little distaste for that particular question. It feels so… mocking to be asked that question, especially since he doesn't have an answer for it.

'I don't know, Krillin,' he answers in a low tone, 'I don't know.'

More than anyone, he'd like to know where Chi-Chi left to, and most importantly, why she left without telling him.

'So… uh,' it's Yamcha who nervously starts this time, 'are you really going to marry her?'

The same way he did with Krillin for asking a question, he looks at Yamcha, but unlike with Krillin, he doesn't have an answer ready to give. The distaste from Krillin's question is still present inside of him, but for Yamcha's question, it seems to have no response to. It neither increases, nor decreases.

'Yamcha's got a point,' Krillin tells him. 'A good martial artist doesn't allow distractions in his training, and girls are all distractions.'

'Krillin,' Yamcha is quick to respond, 'that's not what I meant. I mean, I have Bulma, but she doesn't distract me from my training.'

Goku has no words to reject or deny his friends' sayings, because now that he's hearing it from his friends, it seems that Chi-Chi really _is_ a distraction for him. She must be a distraction, because he hasn't really been able to stop thinking about the fact that she left without telling him.

Why did she do that? Is it because she didn't want to fight him anymore?

'I'm just saying that he should think carefully before he decides to marry her,' Krillin defends his reasoning to Yamcha.

He appreciates Krillin, and what he's trying to do for him, to keep him on the proper path of training without distractions, but the thing is, he doesn't know, Chi-Chi's just nice. She's a fighter, so that makes her different from any other girl that he's met and made friends with before, and he didn't like seeing her sad like that. It made him feel really useless to be unable to make her smile.

'I have to find her, Krillin,' he says, allowing his heart to do the talking.

For him, it feels too easy to let it go as Kami advised him, but more than that, he can't let the feeling of his word being meaningless, consume him. It already has him feeling uneasy, so no, he can't leave it at that. He has to, has to find Chi-Chi and clear up once and for all that his word isn't meaningless.

Krillin suddenly gives him a scared look, a more worried look, rather.

'Uh…' he says, 'you don't mean right now, do you? Because if you go, and she's gone, both of you will be disqualified from the Tournament.'

He knows that. He's been part of the Tournament two times before now, so he knows all the rules, but that doesn't change the fact that he has to find Chi-Chi.

'I want to find her,' he quietly confesses.

Of course, he doesn't want to find chi-Chi more than he wants to fight and win this Tournament, like he's been waiting to do all the years that he spent training on the Lookout, except, he really just does want to find her.

'Do it after the Tournament,' his short friend advises him. 'You'll have all the time that you want then.'

That sounds reasonable, but he still sighs. He really doesn't like feeling like this at all; it's all so new and disturbing to him. Something has to change about this, and it has to change soon.

* * *

Chapter 4, **Departure.**


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4, **Departure.**

* * *

This match between Tien and Tao, will be over soon. There's just something in his gut telling him that it's just a matter of blows, before the fight reaches its conclusion, _and then_ , it'll be time for the next match. Disappointing though it is, the fact remains that there won't be a next match. At least, not his match with Chi-Chi.

 _Chi-Chi_ , his thoughts begin to stray more than he thought they were capable of doing. He meant to think of what a shame it is for him, that he's not going to fight a skilled female fighter after all. More importantly, he wanted to ponder how he's never welcomed victory that came through surrender from the opposite side, without any effort from him, but his thoughts took a life of their own and diverted into the subject of Chi-Chi.

Man, he still can't _believe_ how much she's _changed_.

If she hadn't said who she is, when she did, he wouldn't have known or recognised her at all. Her introduction, (thanks to those same eyes of hers from their childhood) certainly made it easy for him to instantly believe her. But if it hadn't been for that, he wouldn't have put it together that it was her, who showed up here for Yamcha. Thinking this now, he truly understands Bulma and the others' surprised reactions to his appearance when he showed up yesterday.

Huh, he guesses that three years really _do_ make a difference, because Chi-Chi sure has changed, to the point where he wouldn't have known it was her.

The image that he kept of her all these years since he last saw her, was a little shy girl in no clothes and a cape flowing behind her back. He always believed that when he ran into her again, he would find her exactly the same; with the same random giggles, and suddenly hitting him for no apparent reason. Only, that's not the Chi-Chi that was here today. This Chi-Chi is…

Well, to be honest, back in the moment of her introduction, he hadn't allowed himself to be taken aback by how different she looked from when they were younger, because he'd been too busy distracted by the idea that she wanted to marry Yamcha. In this moment, however, he can take these final minutes of Tien's match, to think of how she's grown up to be _really_ beautiful.

Usually, he'd notice these things, such as the appearance of someone, but he'd never be bothered to say anything. Except, with Chi-Chi, the fact that she has an interest in fighting, like no other girl that he's ever known in his life, makes it all the more _different_ for him. That fact alone, sorts her into a never before inhabited category in his life, that he's almost completely compelled to notice everything about her.

Her height, her energy level, her head, her hair, her expression, her eyes, her everything… In a way, that fact alone, isolates her from everything that he's ever really known enough to be comfortable with, that he feels the need to explore her and everything about her. If that doesn't make sense to anyone else, it sure does to him. All that he's really sure of, is that it's a little more different with her, than it is with Bulma, or even with Arale, who was really strong when they met.

Chi-Chi just different from any other girl that he met, Goku thinks quietly, but then, she's also changed in another way, that isn't physically.

He wonders, what happened to that little girl who immediately believed him, when he said that they would find Master Roshi and the bansho fan? Where did that little girl with her face full of hope and faith disappear to, that she can't easily accept that he will marry her? Why couldn't she just believe him, when he's never lied a day in his life?

He hates to admit it, but it actually hurts to know that someone doesn't believe in him. He's not a conceited person, not really, but he's always drawn _more_ strength from the fact that his friends counted on him to be strong, and help them along in their adventures. With that logic, he sort of just took it for granted that Chi-Chi, having known him from their childhood, would've had faith in him too. No matter what.

'That concludes Mercenary Tao and Tien's match,' the commentator's voice booms through the air, bringing Goku's thoughts to this present time, 'with Tien taking the victory into the semi-finals.'

So, Tien won, huh? He can't help it smile at that, even though he already knew that his friend wouldn't lose this game.

'What an unbelievable match that was!' the commentator continues, his voice bursting with excitement. 'But wait, don't feel like it's too long a wait until Tien's next entertaining fighting style, _because_ up next, is a fighter who's always sure to liven things up… In the next battle, is Ms Anonymous versus none other than, Goku!'

At the announcement, the crowd goes positively wild. Some holler, while girlish voices squeal with what he can only identify as their way of showing excitement. The sad thing about all of the pleasing noise from the crowd, is that it makes him feel _worse_. If he'd been disappointed before, for not getting the chance to fight, he's more than disappointed, from knowing that these people are excited for a match that will never be.

'Krillin,' he looks at his friend, 'you're fighting Piccolo next anyway, could you tell the announcer that Chi-Chi's gone?'

He doesn't want to be the one who goes out there and speaks out that Chi-Chi is gone. It would seem too much like a prophecy to him, to do that. Having studied with Mister Popo, he's come to learn a lot of things, and one of those things is that the words that leave the mouth of a person, have the power to either be a revelation or a prophecy, in either bad or good portions.

For an answer, Krillin somberly nods, as if he can sense just what is going on in Goku's head.

'Thanks,' Goku expresses wholeheartedly. 'I'll be back to watch your match, okay?'

For all the world, he definitely wants to watch Krillin's progression through the years, and also observe Piccolo's fighting style, but his whole body is quivering to go after Chi-Chi. The more that he's thought of her, the more he's apparently awakened a deeper restlessness to settle this with her. The bottom line is, that he has to go and find her, but first, he has to talk to someone besides his brain.

Visibly Krillin begins to panic, no doubt as a result of what was said. 'Wait, where are you going? You're not going to…?'

To perfectly avoid his friend getting to the end of the last question, Goku quietly shakes his head. It doesn't seem like Krillin takes his word for it, though, because he looks too distrustful that Goku won't do something like go after Chi-Chi like he'd been saying earlier.

'I don't know, Goku,' Krillin confesses, sounding distrustful, 'seeing you like this is strange. You're always so cheerful and confident. I've never seen you like this before, and to be honest, it worries me.'

That halfway makes two of them, because he's never felt like this. He doesn't ever remember feeling like a stranger to himself, like this. Sure, there had been times when he allowed his anger to consume him against an enemy, but those times had been voluntary, with consent from his part, unlike now. Now, is completely different from those other times.

To assure his friend that he won't do anything before his match, like they agreed, he places his hand on Krillin's shoulder, and then gives his friend a reassuring smile.

'Don't worry, Krillin. I'm not going to go anywhere.'

For a fleeting second, he gets the thought that Krillin, just as Chi-Chi didn't, might not believe him. The thought cuts too deeply, that he winces, because Krillin has been there since the beginning, and he's probably the only other person next to Bulma, who knows him the most.

'Are you sure?' Krillin asks.

'Trust me,' Goku replies a little too desperately. 'Hey, I'd never miss your match. I promise.'

He wonders if that word, promise, even means anything anymore. To him it does, but he is not sure that it's the same for other people. That's the extent to which Chi-Chi's disappearance, has harmed his confidence even in his own word.

See, this is part of why he feels like a stranger to himself.

'Hey, Krillin,' he holds out his fist as a sign that he will not let Krillin fight without his support. 'Give your all out there.'

Thankfully, Krillin puts on a bright smile and brings his fist out too, in order for their two fists to hit against each other.

'I plan to,' his short friend promises with confidence.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'Kami?'

He has to make this quick. Despite what he feels, there's not a second of Krillin's match with Piccolo that he wants to miss. From the start to the finish, he wants to not only be there to support his friend, but also to witness a great match. In observing, he'll easily be able to recognise his own weaknesses and know to avoid them when the time comes, as he watches an amazing fight.

The man that he just called for, turns his attention away from the small window high up in the wall, to give it to him. Unlike the rest of them, Kami doesn't need to have his eyes on the matches to see what is happening. Besides, Kami likes his solitary silence, he likes the calm.

'Hero,' he corrects Goku with a smile upon facing him.

'Sorry,' he giggles for the mess up. 'I just wanted to ask you something.'

'What is it?'

Kami is a very good Guardian. He cares so deeply about the sufferings of the people of the Earth, and all he really wants to do, is make sure that they have peaceful and happy lives, as much as depends on him, to make a difference. It's part of the reason that he's come here to the Tournament, to mainly make sure that Piccolo doesn't get up to any menace.

Goku hadn't really known that Kami would show up disguised as Hero, but the minute that he paid attention to Hero's last qualifying match, he was immediately able to draw to the conclusion that Kami was underneath that disguise. Of course, they didn't speak of the specifics of why he's really here, however, Goku can easily guess that he's here to keep a close eye in case something happens with Piccolo. The other good thing of him being here, is that Goku has a wise source of an ear from him. That is, why he came to find Hero.

'I wanted to know…' he involuntarily pauses, because in the background, he hears that commentator announce that Chi-Chi has been disqualified.

He waits enough to hear the rest of what comes out of the commentators mouth, and then only continues to ask, 'If I made the choice to go after Chi-Chi, would that be wrong?'

Please say no. Kami, please just say no. I need you to say no, because I need to go after her, without feeling like I'm going against your wise advice.

'Hmm,' Kami hums thoughtfully. 'I'm not sure I understand what you mean.'

'Would she distract me from my training?' he quickly clarifies his meaning. 'I mean, I want to keep training after the Tournament, so will she distract me?'

According to Krillin, girls are a distraction. It's only that he doesn't agree, because Chi-Chi would be just as interested in training as he is, being the fighter that she is. He. however, just needs to hear it from Kami, that she will not be a distraction to him.

'I can't answer that, Goku,' Kami answers while shaking his head. 'I don't always know everything.'

'But you're Kami,' he points out, surprised that Kami would say something like that.

Just a while ago, Kami was saying that he shouldn't go after her, and now he has changed his story to this, this that he doesn't always know everything? Did Kami think about it while he was all by himself and realise something that he's not saying?

'Indeed,' Kami agrees with a nod, a sensitive smile flirting on his face.

Okay, Goku feels himself frowning, that is not what he'd been expecting to hear, but if Kami insists that he doesn't have all the answers, then he might as well tell the Guardian the truth.

'I'll look for her, then,' he lets his previous teacher know. 'After I win the Tournament, I'll go and look for her. I just wanted you to know.'

Ultimately, that is why he came here to talk to Kami. Earlier, when they spoke, they didn't end their conversation on a note that pleased him, and he felt the need to let Kami know that, although he respects him, there are simply things in life that have to be done.

'Why are you so interested in her, tell me, Goku,' Kami ponders.

Because he doesn't readily have a straightforward answer, he first scratches the back of his head.

He feels like he can't just confess that he feels compelled to go after and press her, to tell him what about him inspires doubt, that she cannot believe the words that he insists that he will not break for anything. He also feels that he can't confess to Kami, that he wants that chance at having their fight, because they never got to have it. Also, he suddenly remembers that he promised to love her, because she refused to marry him without love between them. All of that, he feels like he can't explain to Kami with good clarity, so he chooses to summarise it into a simple answer, that should be enough of a reason to answer Kami's question.

'I don't know, Kami,' he shrugs, 'wouldn't you be interested in keeping a promise that you made?'

The way that Kami nods, says that he understands Goku's reason for going to find Chi-Chi after the Tournament.

'You're no longer on my Lookout, Goku,' Kami tells him, 'and I no longer have the right to tell you what you should do.'

'Thanks, Kami. Oops,' he giggles at his mistake again, 'I mean, Hero. I appreciate your help.'

Glad to know that at least Kami has some type of trust in his word, Goku uses that approval as his chance to get back to catch Krillin's match. His departure will definitely wait after he's won.

* * *

Chapter 5, **East To West**.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5, **East To West.**

* * *

The last sounds of breaking earth, are still very distinct in his ears, and yet, it's the stunned silence of the crowd that is bothering him. He hates that his final fight with Piccolo had to come down to this, to them destroying more than half of the arena, but he hates the crowd's silence more than that.

As he stands looking over a finally-unconscious Piccolo, he sure wishes that the announcer would (at least) break everyone else's silence, and declare him the rightful winner of this Tournament. The silence of not being announced the winner yet, is starting to drive him crazy.

It's not that he's hasty for time. It's not that he's worried that Piccolo will somehow miraculously open his eyes and continue to challenge him, until there's nothing of the arena left. It's not that he's afraid of losing his hard earned title. It's none of that, because what it really is, is that now that he's won the title of being the strongest in the world, there's something else that he has to do. Something that he's itching to do. Really, really itching to do, that-

'Hey!' he shouts in the direction of the announcer. 'I won, right?'

Only for the Tournament rule's sake, he's asking that question, because in his heart, he knows that he's already won, and that's all the validation that he needs. He simply wants to be _announced_ as the winner, so that he will be free to walk out of the arena without having unfinished business. He sure wishes that the announcer guy would hurry it up, though.

Although, unlucky for him, from what he sees of the announcer man, is no different from the rest of the crowd. The stunned silence, and a facial expression to match, are all that Goku sees all around him, and the announcer man with his microphone is no different from all of them. He cannot decide to think if they are that way, because the previous spectacular fight is finally over, when they wanted it to carry on for much longer, or, if they are simply speechless at how intense and personal the fight had been. Whichever it is that's keeping them silent, though, he at least just needs the announcer to snap out of it.

'Mr. Announcer,' Goku tries again, weakly waving his arm to get the announcer's attention. 'Did I win?'

'Huh?' the announcer finally answers, beginning to come to his present senses. 'What?'

'I said,' he repeats, showing a hand to the unconscious Piccolo at his feet. 'Did I win?'

From where he is, the announcer's eyes follow his hand, and apparently, what he sees at Goku's feet touches him to snap to the present in full mode, because he straightens his back, fixes his tie once he's standing upright, and then clears his throat as he brings the microphone to his lips.

'Ladies and gentleman,' his loud charismatic voice sounds for all to hear, 'if you thought you were dreaming… Give yourself a slap, because there, in the flesh, at Goku's feet, is none other than Ma Junior himself. Unconscious, of course.'

Following his announcement, a few slaps sound in the air, which Goku doesn't bother to see for himself, and then little murmurs here and there increase into more steady tones, that indicate that the spectators are finally coming to life, just as the announcer did.

What a relief!

'Wow,' the announcer says, 'for a while there, it looked like Ma Junior would defeat Goku, and like the rest of you, I _too_ was stunned when Goku quickly overcame that difference, and defeated Ma Junior. Even seeing it now, I'm _still_ unable to believe that it's over, ladies and gentleman.'

Man, this guy is wasting time, Goku thinks, feeling a little irritated. If he could just get to the point and announce him as the winner. He has somewhere else to be, than here waiting.

'Did I win?' Goku presses him to get the important announcement already.

'Oh, right,' the announcer collects himself, 'let's begin a countdown. Ten…'

Is he joking, Goku nearly slaps his face, is this announcer man being serious? Between the time that Piccolo landed, all the silence, and all those unnecessary narrations, at least ten minutes have gone by, and he _still_ wants to do a countdown? Oh man, how much longer will this carry on for? He really needs to get onto Nimbus and go after Chi-Chi before night falls.

'Eight...'

It's only for the fact that he wants to be declared the solid winner, so that he can leave properly, that he isn't doing anything to protest the silly countdown. The small chance of Piccolo getting up, is a possibility, and in this state, he doesn't have any energy left to entertain a decent fight, so this countdown is a little dangerous in itself. However, that being a possibility, he still won't protest against the rules. If he wants to win by the Tournament rules, he'll have to let them happen, whether they are an inconvenience for him or not.

'Four…' the announcer continues his countdown.

What a shame that he has to wait, though. At this rate, Chi-Chi could be on a plane and far away from him. His friends usually take a plane, that is, if Bulma doesn't feel like playing the pilot and picking them up from their various locations. If Chi-Chi has taken a plane off the island, he's going to have to follow it for a long time, all the while waiting, so that he can finally talk to her only once the plane lands. Man, he'd just hate it if she took a plane, because he doesn't want to have to endure the waiting involved with planes.

'Aaaand one,' finally sounds, perfectly loud. 'Goku is the winner of this year's Martial Arts Tournament!'

'Great, thanks,' Goku smiles widely, showing the announcer a thumb.

His smile, is to express the gladness that he feels for finally having the opportunity to leave this place. He enjoyed his fight with Piccolo, really, he did, but that's over now, and there's something important that he needs to do.

With that thought, he looks towards the sky and calls with a loud voice, for his cloud to come to him. 'Nimbus!'

In a second, Nimbus shows up in the sky above him, proceeding to come directly to him. As soon as Nimbus comes to hover beside him, he doesn't wait another second to jump onto his beloved cloud. Although, just as he's about to tell Nimbus to head in any direction, he hears a familiar voice call his name from far behind him.

'Goku.'

Knowing it's Kami, he looks back to where he heard the voice coming from. To his surprise, instead of seeing the disguise of Hero masking the Guardian, he sees Kami in his usual robes, patiently standing next to his three friends at the arena entrance.

'Let's go, Nimbus,' he softly tells his cloud, who readily obeys him. 'Hey…' he observes about Kami when they appear at the group, 'you got rid of your disguise.'

Only slightly, Kami nods to answer that he did, but the grim look on his face tells Goku that Kami called him here for a different reason. Because of that suspicion, he jumps off Nimbus, to stand facing Kami.

'You did well, Goku,' Kami says to him, 'but you were supposed to kill him.'

Ugh, Goku thinks, not this again.

They've been through this before. He specifically told Kami that he's not a killer. Even if he was, he'd never kill anyone that would cause harm to any of his friends at the same time that they are struck. He'd rather risk losing a battle, than indirectly kill one of his friends. And for the Earth's sake, no, he won't kill Kami for anything.

'You know I can't do that, Kami,' he says restlessly.

'I know,' Kami answers him with a smile. 'Which is why I'm going to take Piccolo's rehabilitation upon myself. I will take him with me to the Lookout.'

That's a surprise. Not a bad one, but a surprise all the same. Kami had been so determined that Piccolo would never change from his old ways, neither would he ever be tamed to be good. He wonders what changed for Kami? Not that it's a bad thing. In fact, it's a good thing that Kami is willing to give Piccolo that chance, it's only that he didn't expect this from the Guardian.

'Are you sure, Kami?'

He's not necessarily scared for Kami, least of all now that he's the strongest in the world. He only wants the assurance that Kami knows what he's doing, that he has a plan. But anyway, even if Kami doesn't have a plan, if Piccolo tries anything, he'll just go and defeat him again. It's that simple.

'Yes,' the Guardian nods, 'but first…'

Kami suddenly stretches out his hand towards him, and at once, the damage that had been on his body, all of the physical marks and tears in his clothes, disappear. Of course, the tiredness from his fight still remains, but otherwise, it's as if he never participated in the Tournament. The physical evidence that proved his involvement in the previous fight, is no longer visible on him. All of his clothes are intact on his body again, along with his power pole on his back, and his wounds are healed.

'Wow,' he breathes, feeling relieved, 'thanks Kami.'

He'd honestly just been about to go looking for Chi-Chi the way he had been, but now that Kami has fixed him, he's quite thankful that he won't go over to her, looking a mess. It's bad enough that she doesn't believe in him, he wouldn't want her to shun him as well, for the way of his appearance. He truly is thankful that Kami did this for him, because he would've just gone without thinking about it.

And now that he's good to go, it's about time that he says goodbye to his friends until a later time. He doesn't know how long this adventure of his with Chi-Chi will take, but if he's going to marry her and live with her, it might just be a while. He doesn't mind, though, as long as he says goodbye to his friends, with the promise of seeing them soon. Whenever soon may be.

'Hey, guys,' he directs his vision to his friends, who are looking back at him, stunned, 'can you tell Master Roshi and the others that I've gone?'

'You're leaving already?' a shocked Krillin wants to know. 'What about your prize money?'

His prize money?

Oh yeah, he'd forgotten about that. He remembers how the last time that Master Roshi won the Tournament, he took them all out to eat in celebration. It would've been nice to do the same for his friends here, it's only that he has something else important to do, that trumps buying his friends food. Besides, he doesn't really care about money. He somehow always finds a way to get what he needs, so, it's not important to him to wait and collect his prize money.

'Um…' he scratches his head, thinking of the best answer to give before he says, 'I don't really care about that, Krillin.'

'Goku,' Kami says his name sternly, 'you might want to reconsider that, if you are going after that young lady. Money is very important.'

He doesn't want to believe that, but if Kami says so, then it's only right that he follows the advice. Only, he seriously _will not wait_ around to collect that money. For all he knows, that announcer guy might get into a talking frenzy again, and it'll get too dark for him to go after Chi-Chi. This money responsibility, he'll have to hand over to someone else.

'Krillin, can you ask Bulma to get it for me?'

Bulma is the one person that he would easily find, or would find _him_ at least, for one thing. Yes, he trusts his other friends too, but Bulma is the one who knows more about those kinds of things, so it's better to leave it in her hands. She'll definitely know what to do, and keep it for hm.

'Uh, sure,' Krillin says unsurely.

Even though Krillin sounds sceptical, his answer, is all that Goku needs to know that his prize money will be taken care of when he's not here to collect it. Which is why he turns his attention back to Kami for one last thing.

'Kami, can you tell me which way she went?'

It's turning out to be a good thing that Kami called him here after all, because there's no way that he could've asked all these questions, and gotten all that he did from Kami just now, otherwise.

'So, this is it, huh? You're really going to find that girl?' Yamcha asks, to which he just nods.

'And if you don't find her?' Tien asks.

'I'll look for her from east to west, and then north to south, if I don't find her. But don't worry, I'll find her for sure.'

He's positive that he will. With Kami's help in terms of direction, he surely will find Chi-Chi. It may not be today, or even tomorrow, he he's sure that he'll find her. He's never been determined to do something, only to fail at it. That's not who he is.

'You're something else, Goku,' Tien says admirably with a shake of his head.

Whatever Tien thinks, Goku nonchalantly thinks as he turns to Kami. He's never been one to accept compliments, not even about his strength.

'Kami?' he prods for an answer from the Guardian.

Showing his hand in the direction behind them, Kami replies with, 'That way.'

'Thank you,' he says before hopping onto Nimbus, and commanding him to take off at once.

His last, 'Bye,' to all of them, leaves his mouth only a long distance away from them, and the space in between him in ascending into the sky and his friends on the ground, probably swallows it up anyway. Well, it doesn't matter, he'll see them again.

For now, though, for sure this time, he'll move to find Chi-Chi, and nothing will distract him from finding her.

* * *

Chapter 6, **Found.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6, **Found.**

* * *

When he left the Tournament building behind him, he didn't think that he would have to cross several towns and a forest to find her, but that is what he did. He travelled all around a few towns off the island, and a huge forest, with eyes peeled wide open, in attention for a specific girl, until he found her.

Strangely, though, now that he's found her, everything else that happened, like all that he saw, and all the towns that he crossed, don't matter to him anymore. It's like everything that he went through to find her, didn't happen, now that he's got his eyes on her back, just a breath away from catching up with her. What matters the most to him now, is that he's found her.

Happy that he's found her at last, Goku silently urges Nimbus to lessen his already slow speed, to catch up with Chi-Chi in a way that doesn't scare her. As Nimbus does what he's told, Goku can't help it think back to the time when they first met, when he and Chi-Chi first met, and he had to have Nimbus slow down when they neared her. Back then, he'd only had the memory of a picture to go by, but he recognised her just fine.

'Hi, Chi-Chi,' he happily greets once Nimbus reaches her.

Chi-Chi quickly jumps back in surprise at the sound of his greeting, her legs professionally carrying her away from him. Her jump, he quickly notes, is typical of a martial artist who suddenly feels unsafe in their previous position, and so they assume a new stance, one ready to defend themselves, if it comes to that. He wouldn't have expected any less from her.

'It's you,' comes out of her mouth surrounded by an uneasy air, but the automatic way that her body relaxes, contradicts that uneasy cloud wrapped around her words.

It's because he reads her body language, rather than pays attention to her words, that he easily jumps off Nimbus, to land right before her.

'Yeah, it's me, and I found you,' he announces with a triumphant smile.

For some reason, Chi-Chi steps back from him, only to flatly answer him with, 'You make it sound like we were playing a game of hide and seek.'

Well, no, they weren't playing a game of hide and seek, but she _did_ leave the Tournament without telling him that she was leaving, so it's only right that he tells her that he's found her. Anyway, none of that matters anymore, he reminds himself. He doesn't care that she left without telling him, because he's found her now.

 _Oh yes_ , he remembers, _now that he's found her_ …

Ignoring the fact that she stepped away from him, he steps close to her again, this time completely getting into her space, so that she doesn't have enough room for herself. He's a little surprised to see that instead of stepping away from him like she did the last time, she only looks at him as if she's looking for something on his face.

'What is it?' she asks him, her expression not changing.

For an answer, he lightly smiles to silently assure her that he's just himself, and that's all, and then he firmly wraps the fingers on his left hand, around her left wrist. Only then, does he notice her expression change to one of question, as her eyes move to look at their impromptu contact. The right thing to do, would be to tell her not to worry about what he's doing, but instead of telling her that, he silently (gently too), slides his fingers off her wrist, bringing them to a snug rest under her fingers, with his thumb being the only exception, to rest over her knuckles. Holding her hand in his like that, he patiently closes his eyes and then begins to concentrate.

 _Hmm_ , he takes in, _strong_. _Not strong like Krillin, or any of his other friends, but also not almost non-existent like Bulma._ _Nothing like Launch either_ , he continues to think. _Neither blue-haired Launch, nor blonde-haired Launch_.

He definitely likes this distinct difference within Chi-Chi, because it means that he will never confuse her difference with any other girl that he knows, or any of his friends.

'There,' he smoothly breathes out as he opens his eyes.

His open eyes, find her eyes blinking at him, looking lost, as her mouth lets out a confused, 'What?'

'Now I have your energy mark,' he explains, letting go of her wrist then. 'I was afraid that you'd try to leave, so I held your hand to keep you here. But now, I'll always know it's you.'

Normally, he wouldn't need to touch someone to get their energy mark. With Chi-Chi, however, he felt like he needed to keep her in place, otherwise, she would've fled or moved, thus interfering with his processing process. It's important to him that he knows all of his friend's energy signatures, and Chi-Chi is no different. After all, if they are going to get married, he needs to know that this is her, even when he isn't close to her.

'You're strange,' she says in a low tone, shaking her head too before she turns to start walking forwards.

He automatically falls into step with her, without thinking about whether or not she's actually aiming to be away from him. His only thought regarding her walking, is that he'll walk along with her.

'You owe me, you know?' he reminds her, looking at her from the side.

'I don't owe you anything,' she firmly says, keeping her eyes straight ahead.

She probably forgot, he thinks. Seeing as she had been a little upset at the Tournament, she must've forgotten about it.

'Yes, you do,' he gently replies. 'You owe me a fight. We didn't get to fight, remember? We can do that now, if you want. I want to.'

He really, really, really wants to fight her, and he's hoping that she wants to fight him too. All right, he'll admit that he's read her energy level, and found that she has no power to match against him, but still, apart from Arale, he's never fought a girl before.

He's so intrigued to know how much strength she puts into her punches, and what strategies and techniques she uses when fighting. He's itching to know how she reacts when she's backed into a corner, and how fast she is to think of a plan to deliver herself from getting beaten. And the simple truth is, he won't be satisfied until they've kicked it out on the ground, or in the air.

Chi-Chi suddenly stops walking to look at him fully. If he had to name the look on her face, he would say that it's a mixture of helplessness and irritation. He wonders how she's able to combine looking like she's lost and irritated at the same time.

'And why would I want to fight with the guy who just won the Martial Arts Tournament?' she wonders, her eyebrows raised and curved at the ends.

Wow, he's surprised. He didn't say anything about winning the Tournament to her, he didn't say anything about the Tournament at all, but here she is, declaring him the winner.

'How did you know that I won?' he wants to know, slanting his head to get another angle of a look at her. 'You weren't there.'

'You _are_ Goku, aren't you?' she asks.

But man, she sounds pushy about it, almost like she's daring him to say that he's not Goku, and she can show him the consequence of giving her the wrong answer. He wonders if the small shivers that touch all around his neck, are the result of her attitude.

'Yeah,' he slowly lets out, 'I _am_ Goku.'

He, in general, likes to introduce himself to people. E honestly just like to say his name to anyone and everyone that he meets, so that right away, they know who he is. Saying his name to other people has always been a thing that he did, also to let someone know that he has space enough to share time with them.

'I remember when everyone thought that King Piccolo wouldn't be defeated,' she begins to tell him, her eyes looking at him, but not really seeing him (it seems to him). 'I told my father that you would beat King Piccolo for sure, and you _did_. If you could beat King Piccolo as a child, then you're obviously much stronger now.'

Wow, this is the second time around her that he feels awed. He feels that way so much so, that he involuntarily rubs a finger under his nose, to express his feelings on what she said about him. As per his own standards, he doesn't know about that compliment specifically, but he'll fully accept how nice it felt to hear her praise him like that. He feels the sort of nice that makes him feel weak inside, but really happy as well, that he doesn't know how to express it externally. He does know, though, that it feels good to know that she at least she has faith in his strength.

'You're right,' he answers sheepishly, avoiding her eyes for a second, 'I did win.'

'Of course, you did,' she says authoritatively after a long unreadable look. 'So, why would I think to fight you, when I know that I'll lose?'

Again, she begins to walk away from him, and just like before, he follows her without an invitation. She hasn't told him to stop following her, or walking with her, and until she does, he'll keep walking with her.

'So, where are you going?'

'I'm going home, Goku,' is her answer as she stops to face him. 'You should really leave me alone, you know.'

'But I already found you,' he complains to her, showing her the beginnings of a displeased frown, 'how can I leave you alone?'

To him, it doesn't make sense to leave her after he's already found her. The whole reason for finding her, was _finding_ her, so why would he just leave her by herself after he found her?

'Simple,' she sharply answers, 'you just stop following me.'

Oh. There it is. She asked him to stop following her. He didn't think that she would, but she did. Now what is he going to do? Just do as she asked? No, he can't do that. For as long as he doesn't fight her, he'll remain unsatisfied. Plus, there's still his promise that he has to follow through with.

'But I don't want to stop following you,' he tells her sincerely. 'I still want to fight you, and we still have to get married.'

Why can't she understand that it's just not him, to not do what he wants? Aside from keeping his promise, especially now that he has her energy signature engraved within, that essence of her core energy, he's more than curious to fight her. It's not the fact that she's not that strong to defeat him, it's that he wants to see what she's capable of. And of course, a good fight is always something that makes him happy; whether he puts his all into it, or not.

'I don't want to stop following you, Chi-Chi,' he repeats to get his point across.

Like an angry cat would, Chi-Chi growls at him at the same time that her hands go to either hip of her. He impulsively jumps back from her, because for a second there, she resembled an angry Bulma, and experience has taught him to always duck away from angry Bulma, if he didn't want to get hurt.

'Goku, tell me,' she forcefully says, 'do you already have a dress prepared for your wedding?'

What? No. Why would he do that? He doesn't wear dresses. Only girls wear dresses, and he's not a girl.

'No,' he answers with a confused frown.

Chi-Chi pulls a frown of her own, to mirror his, 'Do you already have your whole life planned out?'

'No,' he shakes his head, all of a sudden a little nervous for some reason.

'Do you know how many children you're going to have?' she persists with her questioning.

'Uh…'

Children? What he does now about children? Well, he knows about them, but having them? Nope, he hasn't thought of keeping children with him.

'No,' he completes his answer.

'So in short,' her eyebrows dangerously draw together, 'you haven't thought of how your first kiss with your husband will be like?'

He would've started moving his lips to answer yet another, 'No,' if she didn't jump right in to the next question, like she has no need of breathing between her questions.

'And how wonderful his strong arms will feel around you, when you lay down to sleep? You don't have it planned, how he'll be a hardworking man, that will love coming home to you, and your three children? How he'll pick you up, and spin you in the air, telling you how much he loves coming home to you? Do you already know how you'll take care of your house? Or the delicious food that you'll make for your family? Do you have it planned, how your children will grow up to be geniuses, because you will help them with their homework every day after school?'

Apparently, he breathes out once he realises what the silence means, she's finished with her series of questions. Her expression is set to something that's waiting for him to give her a response, which tells him to give her an answer, or answers to all the questions that she asked, but his immediate response, is only to stare at her blankly.

First of all, why would he think of all that? His life first, is living in the moment, and then decide from there. And secondly, all of this stuff that she's talking about, seems a little too complicated for him to remember all the time.

He doesn't make real future plans, unless it has to do with fighting, because he's never been taught to live _that_ way. If his grandfather had taught him to envision what he'll do, who he'll help, and what he'd wear while helping, he's sure that he would have thought of all that she's asking of him.

'Well?' she prods, pulling a pout at him. 'Have you?'

'No,' he slowly shakes his head. 'Was I supposed to?'

Maybe, what happened was, he missed one of the many lessons that Master Roshi gave him when they first trained with Krillin. Maybe, he missed or forgot that important lesson which would later be important in his life, and this is the thing that Chi-Chi wants from him. That's probably it.

'No,' she snaps at him, the hands on her hips leaving to cross over her chest. 'You weren't supposed to, and that's exactly the point! Marriage is something that I've wanted my whole life, so I'm ready for it. You're not.'

Boy, she looks irritated. It's probably because he missed that lesson after all. It's his own fault, really, then. But even so, there's something that he doesn't agree with from her, even if he didn't pay attention in class enough to remember what he was supposed to.

'How can you say that I'm not ready, if we aren't even married yet?' he wonders thoughtfully.

That really doesn't make sense to him. He's heard countless of times, people telling him that he wasn't strong enough, or not ready enough, or big enough to do something, and yet he always proved them wrong. As far as he knows himself, being ready for something, is only determined by the actions and reactions once that thing is happening.

'Because you need to love someone, in order to be ready for marriage,' she explains it to him.

Oh, so _that's_ what she means by being ready for marriage. He can understand that, and that being the case, he really isn't ready, then. The thing is, though, he _is_ willing to love her, so when he loves her, he's going to marry her, he guesses. In that case, then it shouldn't take him that much time to be ready for marriage then.

Honestly, there are a lot of things in the world that don't hold his interest enough, and naturally, he just doesn't care to know them or understand them. What interests him, he makes time to learn and improve on, and most of all, what he knows about himself is that when he's determined to do something, he doesn't leave room for failure. This being ready for marriage, won't be a problem to him, not the way he sees it.

'Okay,' he accepts, but there's still one thing that he needs to be sure of. 'So then…?'

'What?' she asks, sounding impatient.

'You love Yamcha?' he wants to know. 'I mean, you wanted to marry Yamcha, so you love him, am I right?'

Since she said that's ready for marriage, it obviously means that she must love Yamcha. Her love for Yamcha certainly explains why she was sad when she found out that he couldn't marry her.

'Well, no…' she answers lowly, looking down at her feet. 'But Yamcha once said that he loves me. Back when I was younger, he told me that he loves me.'

So, wait… He needs to think about this for a little bit, just so that he is quite clear on it. _She_ was willing to marry Yamcha, who she doesn't love, but she won't do the same for him? She's not willing to let _him_ marry her, even though he doesn't love her yet, when she had been ready to do the same as he wants to do? That's not fair at all.

'Yamcha's going to marry Bulma,' he chooses to tell her instead.

Voicing what he thinks is fair or not, might just irritate her more. He doesn't want to do that, especially when she's already told him to leave her alone a few times. He realises just what a good move it was to refrain from pointing out the contradiction, when her immediate response, is a heated look, that she follows with an equally stomping away from him.

Even he doesn't have to ask if she's angry, because her reaction says it all. Mainly for the angry reaction that she gave him, he only stays in place, refusing to go after her.

'Was it something I said?' he calls after her.

'Yes!' she shrieks as she turns around and jumps back to where he is.

He swears, on his life, that he feels the floor vibrate after her feet land a step away from him, and her fire-filled glare hits him right in the centre of his eyes. Even before she starts to yell at him, telling him what he did wrong, he already starts to feel goose bumps rise on his body, making the smallest of hairs on his skin stand on attention. He doesn't even dare to breathe by the time that she starts to yell at him.

'Thanks for reminding me that I won't get married now, Goku! Don't follow me anymore! Just leave me alone!'

Okay, she's clearly angry, but why does she keep saying that? He already told her that he won't leave her alone.

'I'll leave you alone once you fight me, and we get married,' he tells her, his voice shaking a little bit. 'Otherwise, wherever you go, I'll follow you.'

While he won't lie that her yelling, is something that he absolutely wouldn't fear to provoke again, there's comfort in the fact that Chi-Chi's anger is not like when Bulma gets angry. When Bulma gets angry, hiding for cover is mandatory, because she gets _quite_ scary, that he even starts shaking sometimes. But Chi-Chi… He doesn't know, with Chi-Chi, it's different. She yells like no one that he has ever heard yell, but it's not _scary_.

Suddenly, taking him by surprise, a genuine smile spreads on her face. 'You're impossible,' she says, letting out a light laugh. 'Don't be silly, Goku, you won't be able to leave me alone if we get married.'

'Ha,' he happily cries, pointing his finger at her. 'You're smiling.'

He likes that he made her smile. He's not sure what exactly he did to make her smile, it's only that it makes him feel good to see her smile. She has a nice smile, anyway, not a forced smile like he's seen on some people. And he likes that. He really does, it says that she's not angry or sad anymore. That she won't yell at him anymore.

Thinking all that, nothing that happened previously is important to him anymore. Seeing her smile, takes him to a new place, where it just feels nice, and nothing could be better at the moment. She's smiling and that's enough.

'Hey, do you want to ride with me on Nimbus?'

'No,' she shakes her head, 'I have to go home.'

'Me and Nimbus will take you home,' he says, offering her his hand.

From what he remembers, she could ride Nimbus when they were younger, so it shouldn't be a problem for her to get on.

'Fine, but…'

She mumbles the rest of her sentence under her breath as she takes his hand, but he doesn't mind what she mutters one bit.

* * *

Chapter 7, **Goodnight And Go.  
**


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7, **Goodnight And Go.**

* * *

Not that he forgot that distinct feeling that comes from riding nimbus in good spirits, but as his beloved cloud surges with him and Chi-Chi atop him, Goku is easily reminded of why he's always loved going on adventures so much. The feeling that he always got from flying up and down, at top speed or mellow speed, (depending on how he felt like) readily washes over him while they ride to Chi-Chi's home.

As they ride on, he is too busy enjoying the feeling of being on his cloud once again, that no real thought of talking to her, occurs to him. The thing is, it was three years ago that he rode his Nimbus, that he just wants to cherish this first ride with his cloud. Although, now that they're reunited, it doesn't feel like that much time passed, yet, he still needs to enjoy this, that he hasn't done in three years. Nimbus is one of the oldest friends that he has, and as he feels about all his friends, especially seeing them after a long time of not, he feels for Nimbus too.

And so, because he missed Nimbus, he quietly enjoys the ride, without speaking a word to Chi-Chi, or looking back at her, until they get to her home.

Looking at her home from a foot's distance now, he swears that he remembers her home being a castle. And because of that memory, he's pretty sure that he shouldn't be marveling at how grand it is. However, when he contrasts this castle that he's looking at, to Kami's castle, he can't help it be amazed. For one thing, he certainly doesn't remember it being _this_ huge when he was younger, and for another, _how is it so huge like this_?

Maybe, he starts to think, back then, when he was younger, he'd just been in too much of a hurry to notice its actual size. That could be the only logical explanation to the big difference in size. Or it could not be the only explanation, he argues with himself. He could just ask Chi-Chi, to find out if it's always been this huge.

'Hey, Chi-Chi-' he turns his head to look at her, only to find that she's no longer behind him on the cloud.

He should've guessed that the minute that her home came in to view for her, she would take the opportunity to immediately get off Nimbus. After all, she had been insisting that she wanted to come home; she must be glad to be back home from the Tournament. He knows that he'd be glad to be back home too.

He's about to ask her (for confirmation) if she's glad to be home, when he notices her dusting herself off, like she's getting ready to leave. The words that were to form the question, die in his head, before they can make it out of his mouth. What makes it to his mouth –his lips, rather- instead of those dead words, is a soft smile. For her.

On his cloud, Nimbus, on his power pole, and on his precious uniform, he can't believe that he didn't notice it before, but it suddenly hits him, that she's a girl who really _knows_ her goals in life. During the times that he was opposing everything that she said to him, he didn't get to take in just how determined and decided she is. Now, however, seeing her dusting herself off, and getting ready to leave him like she's been pressing to do all this time, he's beginning to realise just how determined, and stable to her word she is.

Oddly, he likes that about her.

Truly, he does.

And truly, the thought makes his smile grow wider, that when she finally finishes dusting off, and she looks at him with ready eyes, she instantly frowns at him.

'What?' she wonders.

Although she's giving off the air of being distrustful of him for some reason, that doesn't make him feel bothered enough to lose the smile on his face.

'I'm just happy that I'll see you again tomorrow, that's all,' he answers her.

It's no use, he's decided. In the short time that he came to the conclusion that he likes her stable firmness, he spontaneously decided that it wouldn't do any good to keep struggling with her on getting married. If he thinks about it, he also needs to eat and rest after the day that he's had, so it won't be a bad thing if he just says goodnight to her, and then goes home to rest. The sun's already starting to set anyway.

His statement apparently, he notices as he waits for her, isn't enough to get a response from her, because all she does, is look at him with an expression that he hasn't ever seen on anyone before. He wouldn't go as far as to name her expression annoyed, and yet… It looks to him, like she wants to say something to him. No, it actually looks like she's _burning_ to say something powerful to him, but at the same time, she doesn't want to speak to him at all.

That's strange, and contradicting.

He muses that, also deciding on the spot, not to push it. Tomorrow's still a day that's going to come, and he can push it all that he wants then.

'Well, okay,' he begins to lift his left hand, to wave at her, 'I'll see you tomorrow then.'

'Wait,' leaves her mouth is hasty rush.

Because he didn't expect her to speak, much less tell him to wait, when all that she's been doing is telling him to leave her alone, his eyes enlarge, to stare at her properly. What did she _really_ say?

'Huh?' he drawls, sounding as puzzled as he is.

'It's just...' she starts, and then pauses to sigh, before picking up again, 'if I fought with you right now, would you still come back tomorrow?'

The way that she paused to sigh, he thought for sure that she was going to say something that she would regret later on. If suggesting a fight is all that she was hesitant to say in the beginning, then she shouldn't have worried in the least. She should know that a fight with him, is sure to be fun, of course.

'Yeah,' he jovially answers, his previous smile returning to his face.

Frowning at something, she asks, 'But what if I said that you _can't_ come back here?'

Well, he thinks about it, she _can_ tell him not to come back here, but he hopes that she doesn't do that. He did promise her a few things, so not coming back here to her wouldn't make sense.

'But I have to come back,' he tells her seriously.

'Goku!' she scolds him, her eyebrows making a 'V' when they meet in the space separating them. 'You don't take anything seriously, do you?'

'Yeah, I do,' he tells her.

'Then take _this_ seriously,' she announces, her arms crossing in irritation. 'I don't want you to come back here to me.'

She's so stubborn, he thinks, starting to feel a sizzling buzz in his head. She's starting to get angry too, but she's so stubborn! What she's asking him, is something that he _can't_ give her. She obviously doesn't know it, but he really takes pride in _keeping_ his word. Honouring his word, is something that his Grandpa taught him, and he can't ever let it go. Letting it go, would mean that he doesn't value what his Grandpa taught him.

'But what about my promise to marry you?' he tries.

Almost instantly, her face lights up like she just saw something that she really likes. Curious to see what it is that she saw, he looks behind him, but he doesn't find anything there. Strange, he would've thought that whatever made her face turn like that, was behind him. Only, there's nothing there.

When he turns to her again, he still finds that same look on her face, the only addition, being a smug smile. Whatever she's excited about, he's sure that he's up for it, because if she's _this_ excited, to the point of smiling like she already has victory, it must be _that_ exciting.

'What is it?' he questions, her excitement starting to creep into his skin.

'Tell you what,' she says to him, dragging her eyes from his head to the end of Nimbus. 'I'll have a little fight with you, and _when_ I win, you're free to break your promise. Deal?'

A fight? A real actual fight with him? That's what she's excited for? Oh yeah!

Now he's super excited. So much so, that he effortlessly jumps off Nimbus, to stand before her and look down at her with a mirroring smug smile on his face.

She has no idea what she's saying, that she'll win against him. True, they've never fought before, but she said it herself, she wouldn't want to fight someone who won the Tournament. She really has no idea what she's getting herself into, and that's his reason for smiling like the winner that he is.

'And when I win?' he tests with an arrogance that he doesn't usually like to display.

As if the thought of him winning didn't cross her mind before, the smile on her face disappears, to be replaced by a thinking expression.

' _If_ you win,' she says doubtfully, 'then you can court me, I guess.'

He can't believe that she actually doubts his ability to defeat her. He shouldn't be keeping count, because keeping count is like holding a grudge, but she already doubted him back at the Tournament. This new doubt of hers, he will not let her get away with. It's a doubt too many, when added to the pending doubts of her.

He may not know about this courting thing, because he's never heard of it, but he can't have her doubting him like his fighting skills are common to every person. He's made a point to get stronger and be the strongest, as it was proved by the Tournament that just ended, so that should say something to her.

'Deal,' he smoothly says, holding out his hand for her.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

'Chi-Chi,' he cries, boredom getting the best of him, 'this isn't working.'

When she said that they would fight, he actually believed that they would be going toe to toe, punch to punch, and hit to hit against each other. However, all that they've been doing so far, is gripping each other's hands fiercely, while the front ends of their feet fought to keep steady on the ground beneath them.

In normal combat, intertwining fingers with the opposition, to hold their hands still in a steady grip, while their feet aimed to push the opposition back with all of their might, would be a determining move. A move that would be designed to see, which of the two sides would cave to the pressure of being pushed against. Here in his 'fight' with Chi-Chi, though, since this move is all that they've been doing since they started, he's starting to get bored.

From what he knows, fighting isn't boring. Fighting is fun, and fills him with so many wonderful and not so wonderful feelings.

As with his other fights, here with Chi-Chi, he wants the thrill of dodging and ducking attacks. He wants to feel goosebumps rise on his arms, when he realises that he just narrowly escaped a blow that would've hurt him. He wants to see the reactions from her, when he does something expected. He just wants that fighting excitement!

'Giving up already?' she taunts him, using more strength to push against him. 'It's only been ten minutes at most, Goku.'

First of all, he frowns, he doesn't like that tone of hers. It's like she's challenging him to give up, when he agreed to her rules. And secondly, she's lucky that he's holding onto the hope that they will have an exciting match after all, and that's why he's not using all of his strength to push her to break away from him. If he didn't have hope for a real fight, this hand holding thing of theirs would've been over in the first second.

'I'm not giving up,' he answers anyway, 'but this is boring Chi-Chi. Can't we just have a real fight?'

To apparently answer him, she loosens her grip without letting go of his hands completely, and then carefully steps into him.

'You agreed to this,' she tells him. 'You agreed to a fight, where the first person to let go, loses-'

'Yes, but,' he interrupts in a whiny tone, 'I didn't think that we'd be fighting like this.'

Had he known that they'd be fighting a fight that's almost exactly like arm wrestling, he wouldn't have made the deal to a match with her in the first place. This is so boring, especially considering that he can end it all, when he chooses to.

Although, he supposes that he should have already ended it, but he really wants that fighting rush with her. He's thought it before, that he's never really gone toe to toe with a girl before, and that's why the thought of ending this senseless match too quickly, will rob him the chance of getting what he wants.

'Well we are,' she says firmly, leaving him no room to protest otherwise.

'I could easily win, you know,' he tells her as a way to challenge her to bring a different kind of fire to the fight.

Slightly shaking her head, like she's dismissing that statement, Chi-Chi only looks at him, and he takes that as his chance to prove his point to her.

He acts quickly, by pulling both of her arms to come around his back, but in a way that he has complete control of her arms. He did his best not to twist her arms in any way, as he pulled them around him, but if she struggles, or tries to free herself, he'll twist them just the slightest, to show her that he can force her to surrender that way.

'Cheap trick,' she mutters defiantly, as her face comes to land flat on his chest.

A slow triumphant smile spreads over his lips, as he imagines the sceptical look on her face. Even now, he thinks, even now that she's in a vulnerable position, this close to losing to him, she's still being stubborn against the fact that he'll easily defeat her.

She's quite... something.

Oddly, he likes that about her. He truly does.

'Cheap trick, huh?' he asks with a disbelieving, yet amused laugh in his voice.

At the same time that he questions her, he turns both of her arms just a little bit in the opposite directions, while he pulls the both of them off their feet with his energy. In a soft breeze, after quickly scanning the area, he moves them away from the spot, to push her against the nearest tree with force.

He shoves her into the tree just right, so that she feels the distinct sting of the sudden contact, but not hard enough to seriously hurt her. With her arms somewhat safely behind him, he didn't have any fear of hurting them in the process.

'Ah! she complains at the surprise contact.

Her complaint, is muffled, thanks to the fact that her face is still pressed into his chest, and so, he moves back just a little, to give her speaking room.

He must admit that when he challenged her to add more fire to their fight, he didn't think that it would result in something like this; like him somewhat 'forcefully' showing her that he _does_ have power that excels above hers. In any case, whether he anticipated it or not, he finds it refreshingly interesting and desirable. So _this_ is how fighting with a girl is like...

He likes it, he thinks with a happy smile. He really likes it. It's different, of course, completely different from what he knows, but he likes it.

'You see how easily I attacked you?' he brags smugly, keeping her firmly pressed to the tree with his knees. 'I could just as easily win this fight.'

Quite unlike he expected, Chi-Chi shows him a minimal softly sly smile. Because he knows that there's nothing that she can do to him with her hands and feet, he doesn't feel even a little alarmed at her sly smile. Although her smile speaks volumes of someone who has been waiting for the perfect moment to strike with the perfect ace, he doesn't feel threatened to think that she actually has an ace to attack him with.

But then... He isn't all too sure how it happened, but he finds himself flying as far away from Chi-Chi, as distance would allow him.

All right, he's clear of how he'd been looking at her in challenge, while she smiled her non-threatening sly smile, but as to what happened after that, and how exactly it happened, he can't say that he's clear on.

He can say that he saw Chi-Chi leaning her head somewhere close to his neck, but after that...

The warm fuzziness that suddenly occurred on his neck in seemingly delicate and deliberate circles, and the strange sensation of heat appearing on his cheeks, not forgetting the feeling of lips, _maybe_ , on his neck, that caught him by complete surprise as they happened –if they happened-, he can't in any way speak for.

All he knows, is that he felt that foreign fuzziness surrounding his neck, heat in his cheeks ,and lips, _maybe_ , touching (pecking, maybe) his neck, and he only thought to release himself. He only thought to get away from that alien thing, that has never happened to him before, that he forgot that he was supposed to be holding Chi-Chi, in order to win their little match.

Eventually, when he gathers himself enough to realise what he's done, how he's lost, it's to find her standing before him with a cocky grin, and her arms crossed in victory.

'What were you saying about easily winning?' she asks smugly.

Aw man, his spirit drops for his loss. He really believed he was going to win and marry her, but he lost... He guesses that he won't marry her after all. How disappointing that he's not going to keep his word after all.

'He-he-he,' he nervously laughs to cover up his fallen spirit. 'I guess I lost.'

He wishes that he didn't lose, though.

* * *

Chapter 8, **Human Nature.**


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8, **Human Nature.**

* * *

Chi-Chi won. She won. She really won.

Even now, a few minutes after her victory, it's still a shock to him that she really won their fight. He bets that his shock isn't showing to her, but he feels it. Inside him, he feels like he received a bad sucker punch and the effects are still rippling throughout all of his muscles.

It may be from the fact that he's stronger than her, and so naturally assumed that he would win for sure, that his shock is still vibrating through him. Or it may just be from the fact that she did something to him, that he's never heard of in martial arts training. He's trained under Master Roshi and then Mister Popo, but here he is, looking at the girl that he was supposed to marry after winning, having lost instead.

How did that happen? He'd been so sure of himself, and it's not like he got too confident and dropped his guard. She just… She did something that he hasn't come in contact with and… What was thing that she did to his neck?

'Hey,' he pulls his eyebrows together, really puzzled, 'what was that just now?'

Following his question, he touches his neck to feel if she left a mark for him to trace with his fingers, but he feels nothing. He'd been hoping for the feel of the trace, to help him understand what type of technique it is that she used. He remembers that it felt warm and fuzzy, and that he's never felt something like that exactly…

'I'm sorry…' she apologises, giving him the impression that she hasn't finished speaking just yet.

Immediately, he notices that a deep colour shows on her cheeks, and for the oddest reason, he finds that very appealing. If he had to describe it, he'd describe it with the comparison of that specific look on an opponent's face, once they realise that he's not going all out in a fight, when he was already at an advantage. That look, always gives him a sense of pride that he's not really prone to on a daily basis. That he could make someone react like _that_ , has its unique appeal for him.

'I just wanted to win,' she continues, 'and knew that I'd take you by surprise if I did something like that.'

She knew? So, she must've used a rare subtle method, that's guaranteed to work all the time?

'How?' he asks.

'You're Goku,' she says confidently. 'I could just tell that you'd be surprised. And even if it wasn't like that, it's human nature for us to step away from unfamiliar things at first contact. I was betting on that.'

Good explanation, he nods. Good calculation too, he nods again.

He completely understands how thinking like that, worked out for her. It's only a shame that it counted against him, and made him lose what he thought would be a plain victory for him. Although he lost, he does take some comfort in the fact that she said, 'You're Goku,' like she believes in him as a person.

'So,' he slants his head to lament over it a little, 'you really don't want to marry me, huh? Darn! I really wanted to get married.'

Now, he'll only wonder what kind of adventure it would've been, to be married. He likes his adventures especially, because they provide more opportunities for him, and he thought that same would be his marriage adventure. He guesses that now, he'll have to go to Kami's and try to make friends with Piccolo. If he can't get married, he might as well do something to make up for it.

'You wanted to get married because of a promise,' Chi-Chi reminds him, 'but that's not a real desire for marriage.'

'For me it is,' he firmly speaks from the heart without thinking.

Now that he's said it, though, he'll easily accept for her to think of it as a dud reason, but to him it's everything. The fact that he wants to do it, because he wants to do it to keep a promise, or fulfill his word, is everything to him. He's not an idiot, he knows in his heart that he's not like the rest of his friends, and that his ways of functioning are not exactly like the rest of the gang, but to him, what's him, is what makes him himself.

'Maybe it's not enough for you,' he decides to tell her, 'but for me it is.'

He suddenly feels a little offended by her words. He feels like with her words, she went from having pride in the fact that he's Goku, to dismissing something important about him. It's like back at the Tournament, when she didn't want to take his word for it, and believe that he would marry her and then love her.

Geez, she should make up her mind on how she feels about him, what she thinks of him. And besides, she wanted to marry Yamcha without loving him, like she said it's important to do, so she can't really accuse him like that… Geez. Even the way that's she's looking at him now, like she expected him to say something _not_ along those lines, is like saying that she doubts him.

'Well,' she says with her head held high, 'you're right, it's _not_ enough for me. Think about it, Goku, what if you decide that you're tired in the middle of the marriage? What if your feelings don't change for me? What if I just remain an occasional companion who lives with you? You didn't think about that, did you?'

He shakes his head vigorously as an answer, but she should give him a break. He only just got into this whole marriage thing today, it's not like he's been prepping for it his whole like, like he's been doing with martial arts. She should understand that he hasn't had the same preparation as her.

'Of course you haven't!' she reproaches, before toning herself down. 'I've had too many disappointments before, Goku, and I'm not going to let my marriage turn into one as well. I'd rather be single.'

'But I really wanted to get married,' he resigns, more so for the fact that he doesn't want to cause her any disappointment.

He doesn't want to admit it, because it means giving up on his word altogether, but she's right. Earlier, she said something about it being human nature to step away from the unfamiliar, but it's the opposite for him. For him, the unfamiliar (maybe not at first contact), makes him curious and interested to discover beyond.

However, she is right in that he might lose interest once he discovers that he doesn't like marriage. He's often found that if he discovers something that doesn't catch his interest, he tends to ignore it or not give importance to it al all. He might not like this marriage thing, she's right. And she did win their fight fair and square. 'I'm sure you did,' she says and then smiles.

Still, he decides to try his luck by asking, 'So, I guess asking for a rematch won't make you change your mind?'

Despite finding it reasonable that he might not like marriage, he still wants that second chance at a fight. This time for sure, he won't be caught of guard. He'll attack her right away, so that she doesn't have the time to attack him instead.

Instead of giving him an answer, she walks right up to him, lifts herself up just a little bit on her toes, and then touches her lips to his left cheek. Although he saw her coming to him, he's still surprised at the contact. It's nothing like the thing she did to his neck, but somehow, it feels like family to the neck thing.

'Hey…' he marvels, rubbing his cheek after she steps away from him, 'is that what you did to my neck?'

'No,' she replies, 'that was different.'

'I think I liked the neck thing better,' he confesses.

The neck felt nice. At the exact time it hadn't registered that it felt nice, but it felt nice. He just liked it, if he's allowed to do that, he supposes.

Chi-Chi warmly smiles at him, 'You're supposed to like it.'

Wow, she really _is_ beautiful. When she smiles like she means it, she looks even better. If he's being honest, he could spend an afternoon just looking at her smiling face, to make himself smile in turn. He likes her smiling like this. Maybe even more than that neck thing. That's strange, because that neck thing felt really nice.

'I do,' he confirms again with a smile of his own.

First looking at the distance on her left, she says, 'Well, I have to go now, Goku. My father must be waiting for me.'

She has to go? After smiling like that, she has to go? Why? And why does that make him feel bad? He's always saying goodbye to his friends, but he never feels bad, because he knows that he'll eventually see them when he goes looking for them. It's not clear to him why he doesn't want to see her go, though, he does know that he wants to go with her.

'Can I come with you?' he asks.

In the beginning, from the Tournament, he wanted to find her, to find out why she didn't believe him. When he found her, it became normal between them, and he slowly got into being with her without the burden of other things, but now… He has to say goodbye already? That's not really nice. He doesn't really like it.

'No,' she refuses by shaking her head gently. 'You should go for another journey, I guess. Go and do what it is that you do, and I'll do the same.'

'I won't get married,' he promises her, yet again speaking without thinking.

Whatever he does, he promises that he won't get married. While she did free him from his promise to marry her, that's an unfulfilled promise to him, and so no one else can have it. He just wants her to be clear on that. He doesn't want her to think that just because she doesn't want to marry him, he'll go off to get married somewhere else. It's true that he wanted to get married, but that is specifically only true for her, no one else. If he can't marry her, then he doesn't want to get married. At all. He just needs her to know that. It's important to him, that she knows that.

'That's up to you,' she tells him, 'but I have to go.'

In his head, he didn't expect her departure to be so sudden. Even her prior response wasn't something that he wanted to hear, but it seems like…

He supposes that it doesn't matter now, it's only that he expected that she would wave goodbye to him at least. Her simply walking off, without a formal goodbye, isn't what he thought would happen. Partly shocked at how suddenly she just walked away from him without a warning, he stares after her, watching her get further and further away from him.

'Wait,' he calls after her, a thought just came to him. 'I forgot something.'

'What-?' she starts, turning where she is to face him.

Her turn, leads her to be directly face to face with him, as he'd already taken steps to be near her when he called for her. Being this close to her, he doesn't waste time in leaning down and making his lips touch her cheek. Just as quickly as he touched his lips on her skin, he pulls away to look at her.

'What does that mean?' he wants to know.

'Oh,' she says, sounding disappointed as she blinks several times. 'Uh… Uh, it depends.'

He doesn't care about that, he mentally dismisses. He's not interested in the circumstances that could surround this thing that he just did to her, he only cares to know what it meant when she _did it_ to him. Whether or not he needs that knowledge for general use, he only needs to know what it means to her.

'No, Chi-Chi, when you did it,' he explains, 'what did it mean for you?'

Shrugging, she answers with, 'I meant to say that I'm sorry. You looked disappointed about not getting married, so I wanted to apologise. To make you feel better.'

Wait, did she _notice_ his disappointment? But, he didn't act as disappointed as he feels. He clearly put a happy-go-lucky mask on his disappointment, only verbally expressing how he wanted to get married, so how did she see his disappointment?

'To make me feel better, huh?' he wonders more to himself than to her.

He'll be sure to remember that.

'I really need to get going,' she tells him.

This time, an idea is already forming in his head, and he doesn't feel so bad that she's leaving.

'Okay,' he accepts, 'I'll see you again anyway. Bye.'

Before she can turn her back on him again, he starts to take off into the sky. This time, because he's assured of the fact that he _will_ see her again, he has no problem with leaving her. Although, as he ascends, he faintly catches the words, 'I hope so,' sound in the air, which causes a glad smile to show on his face.

That's settled then, he thinks without looking back at her, he'll come see her again.

* * *

Chapter 9, **Into The Expanse.**


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9, **Into The Expanse.**

* * *

After leaving Chi-Chi, he told Nimbus to come right back to the Tournament, since he couldn't think of where else to go. The only reason that he had left the Tournament, was so that he could catch up with Chi-Chi and talk to her. He'd had it planned in his head that she would listen to him, and then agree to marry him like he promised that he would do, but she didn't want to, so there would've been no point in staying with her for much longer. He would've liked to stay much longer with her, that's for sure, especially to learn about her fighting tricks, but she didn't want him to.

That's okay, though, he comforts himself as he enters through the familiar Tournament doors, he did hear her confess that she hopes to see him again, so it will only be a matter of time before he sees her again.

He walks through the groups of people who had come to watch the Tournament, still talking about the matches that happened, with the focus of only finding his friends. To be honest, he doesn't have a solid plan of what he will do from here, but maybe his friends have something that he can do with them. At the end of the previous Tournaments, they always went out for a big dinner, before they all went their separate ways, so maybe, they will do the same today as well. Once he sees one of his friends standing in one of the corners of the Tournament hall, he rushes over to him.

Reaching his friend, he slightly lifts his hand in a greeting, to get attention, 'Hey, Yamcha.'

'Goku?' Yamcha wonders, his expression giving his surprise away. 'You're back?'

Although Goku can understand why Yamcha would be surprised to see him back, he doesn't really think that it's that big of a deal that he is back. He didn't say that he wouldn't ever come back, and besides, he doesn't really want to talk about his being back. He would much rather know why Yamcha is standing here by himself, when he'd left his friends together. Where did the others go?

'Where are the others?' Goku asks Yamcha, blatantly ignoring the question that he was asked.

'I'm not sure,' Yamcha answers him, his head rotating around the hall, as if he is confirming his answer that way, 'but they're all around here somewhere.'

'You guys didn't leave?' he wants to know.

Bringing his attention back to Goku, and then shaking his head, Yamcha says, 'Nope. We're waiting for Bulma to get your money; she's giving us all a ride. It's just a lucky thing that they don't hold such a thing as a prize giving award ceremony, because we'd have to make another trip back here, you know.'

'I don't mind that,' Goku lightly confesses as he starts to look around the place for signs of his other friends.

He really wouldn't mind about returning here, if he had to. And even if he had to come back, he wouldn't expect that his friends could, or would come with him. Wholeheartedly, he appreciates his friends, and he likes them, but really, he is not interested in living in expectations of them. That's never been how he's lived his life; expecting things from anyone, and he wouldn't like to start doing that either.

'Don't worry about it,' Yamcha dismissively answers, using the chance to move closer to Goku, 'Bulma's getting everything for you, so you don't have to come back here.'

Goku noticed how much closer Yamcha moved to him, but he didn't think anything of it, until he takes a good look at Yamcha, and sees a specific look on his friend's face. He remembers and recognises this specific look on Yamcha's face, because it's the same curious one that he had given to Chi-Chi a while ago. Now, there's nothing wrong with Yamcha being curious, it's only that now, Goku had that look on Yamcha's face associated with Chi-Chi, which automatically takes his thoughts to Chi-Chi asking Yamcha if they would still get married, and that... He just doesn't like it.

To ignore Yamcha's curiosity, he turns his head the other way, so that he has no view of his friend's face, but then Yamcha moves to directly be in his view.

'So?' Yamcha curiously starts, 'Where's the girl?'

'Chi-Chi?' Goku wonders with his face pulled back, as he is seriously doubting that Yamcha forgot her name so soon.

Not only has it not been that long for Yamcha to have an excuse to forget her name, he also told her that he loved her once, so why would he forget her name? It doesn't make sense to him, why Yamcha is choosing to refer to Chi-Chi as 'the girl' instead of using her name.

'Yeah, Chi-Chi,' Yamcha eagerly nods. 'Where _is_ she?'

Where Chi-Chi is, Goku carefully looks at his friend, his eyes contracting just a little bit at the corners, that's what Yamcha wants to know? Why does it make him feel... He doesn't know... He feels a little like Yamcha is asking for so much more than that, like Yamcha knows that Chi-Chi turned him down. He wonders why it feels like that.

'What?' he presents a question back to Yamcha, hoping to make Yamcha repeat the same question again, for him to see if he will still feel the same way about it.

'I _said_ , where's Chi-Chi?' Yamcha repeats, his voice raising a little.

There it is again, Goku recognises within himself, there's that same feeling from before. His feelings are really no different from the first time that Yamcha asked him that question, and that makes him wonder even more about it. Yamcha only wants to know where he left Chi-Chi, seeing as he had left the Tournament telling them, that he would go after her, but Goku feels like Yamcha's asking for more than that, and that makes him feel defensive about his answer.

'Why?' he suspiciously poses to Yamcha.

He's asking, because typically, he doesn't like to share with his friends, more than he needs to. From the time that he matured, he learned that there were things about himself, that he was better off, and safer not sharing with anyone else, and he always, since then, did that. Also, during his most recent training, Mr. Popo, often told him that sharing _everything_ with _everyone,_ made him extremely vulnerable before people. Being vulnerable before people, Mr. Popo had explained to him, meant that his weaknesses could easily be found out, and then used against him for the worst.

Yamcha is his friend, and he doesn't distrust Yamcha to try anything against him, that could harm him, at least, not on purpose. But, he, for a reason that he doesn't understand, feels like Yamcha is trying to make him vulnerable and open. As a result of that, he can't help himself from carefully eyeing at his friend, and stalling to answer, while he tries to figure out just why he feels this way. Really, Yamcha only wants to know where Chi-Chi is, he's not asking for the details of anything that could've happened between them, and yet...

'I'm just curious,' Yamcha answers him, giving him a suspicious look of his own. 'You left here for her, so I just want to know where she is. Did you find her, or not?'

'I found her,' he gives his friend.

He doesn't know, there's just something about Yamcha as a whole, he realises, that he can't feel comfortable with at the moment. It might have something to do with the curious look on his face, or a little to do with the closeness in physical space that he's occupying next to Goku, or maybe, it's just generally his questions that are making Goku uncomfortable to open up, but there is something there...

His answer apparently excites Yamcha so much, that he shifts even closer to him than before. It's only because they are friends, that Goku doesn't move away from being pushed into like that.

'Really?' Yamcha excitedly wonders. 'And? What happened?'

 _Only_ to consider whether, or not he made the right choice in telling Yamcha what he just did, Goku takes a small piece of silent time, to study his friend. Earlier with Chi-Chi, he hadn't liked that earlier look from Yamcha, neither does he like this new look from Yamcha now. To him, Yamcha's curiosity and excitement, are things that he can't feel comfortable with, because they feel too much like Yamcha's trying to open a door that he's not supposed to. But for the sake of them being friends, he'll simply tell it like it is, and then maybe Yamcha will stop with the questions, and his curiosity.

'Chi-Chi doesn't want to marry me,' he decides to truthfully answer.

'She doesn't?'

What's that quick and surprised excitement coming from Yamcha? Really, what is it? What is that expression on his face, like the possibility hadn't occurred to him? What does it mean? Because he doesn't appreciate it.

'Yamcha…' he slowly says the name like he is trying to find its taste on his tongue. 'You can't marry her.'

Immediately, Yamcha jumps back from him, and holds his hands out in front of him in a defending position, to deny that he wants something like that.

'Hey, what do you take me for, Goku?' a deep frown shows on his face as he asks that. 'I'd never move in on your girl, no matter how beautiful she is. I don't want my handsome face done in!'

Well, good, Goku hears himself think uncharacteristically. The last thing that he wants, is for Yamcha to marry Chi-Ch. That promise to marry Chi-Chi, belongs to him, and no, he will not let anyone take it away from him. Yes, it's true that he's not openly competitive _like that_ with anyone, and yes, Yamcha met Chi-Chi first, but he still dislikes to lose what he's determined himself for.

'Just don't marry her,' Goku clearly states, making sure that he doesn't sound like he is joking.

He's being serious, he thinks as Yamcha stares, clearly stunned, at him, and he looks back at his friend. This is not one of those times where he is carefree and just saying things that will, or will not make a difference to him either way. This matter with Chi-Chi, he doesn't understand why yet, but he knows that he'd like to see her again. He'd like to see her again, maybe for a serious fight that next time, and he wouldn't like to find her married to someone else, when he's the one who had made that promise to her. On the whole, he'd like to be the one who keeps his promise to Chi-Chi, well, both of them, and he wouldn't be able to do that, if Yamcha marries her.

'Fine,' Yamcha finally grows tired of only staring at him, 'I won't marry her. But, what will you do now? You know, now that you're not getting married anymore?'

And again, Yamcha seems to be pushing against a door that he shouldn't be. Yamcha's new question seems like a design to make him vulnerable again, especially since he mentioned the fact that he will not be getting married to Chi-Chi anymore. He doesn't like it, Yamcha's question, just like he didn't like the other one. To cleverly avoid the question, he shrugs as though to say that he doesn't know what he'll do with his life, when he really just doesn't want Yamcha to keep asking him any more questions. Too bad for him, though, that his shrug doesn't do what it's supposed to, since Yamcha asks him something else.

'Will you still keep training?'

Yes, Goku answers in his head, he'll still keep training, because he needs to get some levels ahead of Piccolo. But no, he's not going to tell Yamcha that, he would rather look around, and find another thing to use as his escape from answering. Lucky for him, his moving eyes see one of his other friends coming from the little door on the opposite end of the hall, and that, just as instantly as gratefully becomes his greatest reason to escape.

'There's Krillin,' he gratefully blurts out, while a happily reflexive finger moves to point towards his other friend.

And Bulma! Right behind Krillin, he sees Bulma leaving through the same door, to catch up in step with Krillin. Goku can't contain how glad he is to see two more of his friends, not when they are the save that he's been secretly hoping for ever since Yamcha started getting curious looks on his face, and asking questions that didn't leave Goku feel comfortable enough to answer them.

'Yeah,' Yamcha replies, 'he's with Bulma, and it looks like they got your money.'

Who cares about his money? He cares more that he won't have to continue strangely feeling like Yamcha is intruding his private territory. Thank goodness for Krillin and Bulma, for choosing now to show up, but he can't just continue to stand here and wait for them to notice him. He'll go right over, to meet them in the middle. He doesn't notice if Yamcha follows after him, or not, all he wants to do, is get a change from that atmosphere with Yamcha.

'Krillin,' he waves over to his friend, before they fully meet.

'Goku?'

Krillin, is reacting almost like Yamcha had, which is not that much of a surprise. The surprise, is Bulma, who, even from where she is, coats her face in the brightest of red angry colours. Past situations with both Bulma and Launch, have taught Goku how to know when they furious about something, and there is no mistaking that Bulma is fuming for something that obviously happened.

The most likely that she is angry about, Goku quickly thinks, is something that either Master Roshi, or Yamcha did. If not that, then something must've happened in that room where they are coming from, and that's why she's showing her feelings of temper that way. His surprise is not really that she's like that, it's more that she suddenly just switched to being extremely angry, once her eyes fell on him.

'What's wrong Bulma?' he asks in concern.

If it has something to do with the people in the room from where she just came, he will not waste time in going to see them about it. That is, unless Bulma is just being herself, getting worked up over little things, when it's really not that big of a deal.

'What's this I hear about you getting married?' she screams at him in response.

'What?' comes out of his mouth without permission.

He doesn't care that Bulma screamed loud enough for everyone to hear her, he also doesn't care that Bulma's angry like, looking ready to hit him if he does something reckless like step closer to her, he cares –and this is surprising to himself- that Bulma made it sound like it's a stupid thing that he wants to do. His question to her, is his way of asking her to explain to him, what's wrong with wanting to get married.

'How can you do that?' Bulma aggressively screams at him again. 'How can you marry without telling me? What are you thinking? What do you know about that Chi-Chi? Remember how scary her father was when we were younger? What if he tries to kill you, huh?'

He knows and sees that Bulma is upset, but what _is_ she talking about? All that because of his promise to marry Chi-Chi?

Ox King, Chi-Chi's father, had been mean to them in the beginning, but he soon changed when he realised that they didn't want to steal his treasure. Anyway, Ox King had only been trying to protect what was his, just like Goku himself, had tried to protect his Dragon Ball when she first showed up, and tried to take it without his permission.

Bulma shouldn't judge people like that, he thinks. So many of the people that are their friends now, had been unfriendly to them when they first met, but here they all are. Why should she think that Ox King can't have changed, even if he had been scary back then? And besides, Ox King couldn't ever kill him, because Ox King would have to be stronger than him to do that.

'You moron, Goku,' Bulma cries in something that's like a sob, her tone coming down by a lot, 'this isn't the time to be your careless self! Marriage is a big thing, and you can't just... You can't just...'

He noticed that she seemed to develop a stutter towards the end of whatever point she was trying to make, until the stutter silently broke off, and he begins to wonder what made her do that. Wondering, he waits for her to say something else, to pick up where she left off, but she only looks at him pleadingly during that time. Not long after that, she suddenly breaks out into a big cry, just before crossing the space that had been between them, to dramatically fall into him.

Huh? What?

Apart from being confused, he's still in that place where he's waiting for Bulma to complete the sentence that she never did. Here Bulma is, forcefully resting against him, with him unable to give her any type of response, and he still just wants to hear her say what she didn't get to say. Granted that by now, he's used to Bulma making doing the funniest things for reactions, when she doesn't get what she either wanted or expected to happen, but _this_ has no explanation to him.

'Uh...' he begins to bring his hands up, to at least keep her steady against him, and then only turns his head towards Krillin. 'Is something wrong?'

As he stands, all he knows, is that he saw Krillin and Bulma, thought to himself that he would be getting a break from Yamcha's curiosity if he went over to them, only to be surprised with screaming from Bulma. And now this, Bulma crying in his arms, and he absolutely doesn't understand _why_.

'She's upset,' Krillin provides for him, and just then, Bulma pulls away from Goku.

It's funny to him, how as suddenly as Bulma flung into him, she gathers herself away from contact with him just as Krillin answered that she is upset. The way that he knows her, she must not want that to be the answer that Goku hears, so she quickly moved to change it. He finds it funny too, how upon pulling away from him, she loses her crying face, twisted expressions and all, as if none of it was ever there to begin with. Further making it seem like she has nothing to do with the hysterical person that just was, she slowly turns her head, to face Krillin.

'I'm not upset, Krillin,' she calmly says, and although Goku can't see her face, he gets a very look at the facial response from Krillin.

That response from Krillin doesn't convince him that Bulma meant her reply as calmly as she said it, but rather that she made a specifically scary face to accompany her words. He can't confirm that, though, because he's not the one looking at Bulma, and she also turns back to him, but looking hurt than anything else. If he hadn't been here the whole time with them, he would easily believe that Krillin did something to hurt her feelings.

'But...' she starts, her eyes beginning to water. 'You can't get married Goku! You just can't.'

So, that's what she wanted to say from before? Well, he guesses that he doesn't like that, then. Not even a little bit.

He feels funny even just thinking this, because he usually isn't like this, and he usually doesn't take his friends too seriously when they tell him things, but there's something about this whole Chi-Chi subject, that is different. First, Chi-Chi didn't remember him, and then she didn't want to accept his promise. Second, Kami, the great Kami, told him to let her go, and to not go after her. Third, he went after Chi-Chi determined to get her, but not only did she reject him, she also won their small battle competition. When he combines all those things together, all they add up to in his head, are losses.

He hates losing. Very much. And he's never had that many consecutive losses in his life before, so, it's only normal, he guesses, that he feels extremely sensitive and reacting unlike himself around his friends, and them talking about Chi-Chi to him.

'I can, if I want to,' he replies to Bulma, feeling a deep frown on his face.

It's not that he's irritated with Bulma, to be frowning at her, it's that he doesn't like Bulma telling him what he _can't_ do. He doesn't like Bulma sounding like that, he doesn't like that Bulma is making him feel like he needs her permission in his life, when he's never needed it before, and he just doesn't like that she, just like Yamcha, is trying to push through a door that she is not supposed to. As far as he knows, his marrying Chi-Chi has nothing to do with them, so they really shouldn't be involving themselves into it.

'But you can't,' Bulma insists in what sounds like a pleading cry. 'What if we never see you again? You have a bad habit of disappearing, Goku. If you get married, I'll never see you again!'

He's tired of this now, he sighs aloud, but silently looks at Bulma.

He doesn't fully understand why, but he's really just tired of this with Bulma, and he doesn't want to keep feeling like this towards his friends. Not only that, he also doesn't want to keep feeling like he's not being himself anymore. He's just tired of feeling inside. He'd rather feel something physically, than feel where he can't touch the effect of those feelings. It's time that he stops this here.

'You'll see me,' he tells her, looking away from all of them then, to finish with, 'I'm not getting married anyway.'

'You're not?' both Bulma and Krillin's voices ask at once, causing him to turn their way again.

'Why not?' Krillin wants to know more.

Unlike Bulma and Yamcha, to Goku, it seems like Krillin is genuinely only asking, because he thought that Goku was determined to get married to Chi-Chi. It's a comforting change, Goku thinks, to know that someone who hasn't made love declarations to Chi-Chi in the past, and someone who doesn't have a biased opinion of Chi-Chi, is on his side. Worried about him, not curious to find out more.

Considering that, he could easily confess the truth about how he couldn't convince Chi-Chi to agree to him keeping his promise, but then, he'd be telling a small lie, because he clearly heard when Chi-Chi whispered that she hopes to see him again. Although there's still that opening of an opportunity for him to reason with Chi-Chi, he doesn't want anyone else to know about it yet. Not even Krillin.

'It's okay,' is what he chooses to answer his friend with, shrugging too.

'Well...' Krillin starts, nervously scratching the back of his head. 'Goku, the thing is... I know that you will do the right thing here. I mean, if you don't want to marry her anymore, then you have your reasons, right?'

'Sure,' he automatically answers, so as not to get deeper into the conversation.

As a way of showing his support, Krillin smiles at him, saying, 'Okay, then. Whatever you do, Goku, I'll still be your friend.'

'Thanks, Krillin.'

He appreciates that. He really does, because his friends are important to him and he never wants to lose them. Thinking that, he moves his head to look at Bulma, silently hoping that she will accept to leave it here, and not rejoice at the fact that he is not get married anymore.

'Goku...' is all that comes from Bulma's mouth, though.

He can't say if she is sorry that he is not getting married, or she's just something else, that's not overjoyed. It doesn't matter anyway, he tells himself, he likes her just as she is. She gets carried away sometimes, but she's truly a good person, and he really likes her. He doesn't want to leave while she's angry with him, not when he doesn't know when he'll see her next.

'You're leaving again, aren't you?' she suddenly asks.

'I'll be back,' he answers, automatically feeling that there's no use in wondering how she put it together that he wants to go now.

'But where are you going?' it's Krillin who asks him this time.

Really, his friends should be used to his leaving by now. They know that he's not one to stay in one place for too long. He goes after the things that he feels he wants, and his friends are supposed to remember that about him.

'I'll see you all later,' he promises with a smile as a deflecting answer to the asked question.

That's all that they need to know for now, because even he isn't sure where he is going from here exactly. All he knows, is that he will leave the Tournament, go out into the expanse, and see where that leads him to. Hopefully, he'll bump into Chi-Chi somewhere along the way. He'd definitely like it, if that happened.

* * *

Chapter 10, **Journey Of Wonders.**


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10, **Journey Of Wonders.**

* * *

'We're going to Korin's Tower, okay, Nimbus? I think I want to see Kami.'

Gently, Goku pats his cloud, after he's successfully mounted it, and in his own fluffy and wiggly way of communication, Nimbus nods to say that he understands what he needs to do. Because of that, _only_ that from Nimbus, Goku breaks out into a big smile, feeling a very familiar part of himself starting to come back to life within him. After everything that happened today, it feels really good to know that Nimbus is still the same friend, and that Nimbus still understands him. Unlike Kami, who seemed against him talking to Chi-Chi, and then his friends, who treated him like he can't make his own decisions, Nimbus doesn't have any problem with him, or his choices. Nimbus isn't acting any differently towards him, and that makes him feel good inside, even restoring some of his energy that he feels like he lost while talking to his friends.

'You're the best Nimbus,' he says, lovingly rubbing his cloud's side.

Again, Nimbus responds in the only way that he knows how to do, wiggling just a little bit, and then takes off at a speed that's good enough to get him to Korin's Tower in good time, without being too fast about it. Goku's not necessarily feeling adventurous anymore, but he would like the travelling time to Korin's, to recollect himself from the different events from today, in which little parts of himself stayed in. It's not often that something like that happens to him, that he puts a lot of his thinking time into the things that happen, but today was different. It was just different, and he doesn't like the effect that all of it has had on him. What he should be doing now, is celebrating with his friends, just like they traditionally do after the Tournament, much more, celebrating his victory over Piccolo, but he's really not in the spirit to do that.

He's not in the spirit to do much, actually.

Even flying to Korin's Tower, he doesn't want to do, which is why he is so grateful for Nimbus today. Thankfully, his cloud friend knows him enough to understand that if he wanted to get there in a hurry, he would've given the command, and he doesn't need to use a long string of words to make Nimbus understand him. He's had enough of trying to make people understand him today, and he's just tired of it. For a change (today), he would like to not concentrate on flying, and rather be alone to think about what he will do next. Now that he's won the Martial Arts Tournament, like it's always been his dream to do, he wonders what else there is to do, and that is what he needs to think about as Nimbus takes him to Korin's Tower. Maybe by the time that he gets there, he will have made the decision to start training.

For now at least, he certainly doesn't need to get stronger. He's already the strongest in the world after defeating Piccolo, but his match with Piccolo had been a close one. If he relaxes, he might just get back to being the second strongest in the world again, and that, he doesn't want. For most of his life, he has had the goal to be the strongest that there can be in the world, and he worked hard to make sure that he got better each time, so if he were to go back to being number two, he would feel like a failure. It's just that he can't immediately go back to training again, can he? On the other hand as well, he doesn't really want to explore the world yet. He did that too. It had been his goal to journey the world and see all its part, and he did it. Along the way, he made friends, and he helped where he promised to, but how much more of that should he continue to do?

Yeah, it had been fun to travel, but...

Something about Chi-Chi showing up at the Tournament today, made him want a different type of adventure. He doesn't know how she did it, and what it is about her that made him shift a little of his unplanned plans of living, he only understands that she made a difference in him. He could've gone off to marry Chi-Chi... If she had not rejected him, she would be riding on Nimbus with him now. She rode Nimbus with him that one time when they first met and he found her for her father, but it can't be the same as then, he thinks. All grown up, with the strength of a martial artist, he imagines that she could've easily sat behind him, or in front of him if she liked. He doesn't believe that she would've been wary like during the first experience. They probably wouldn't have been heading towards Korin's Tower on Nimbus, though, that's for sure.

Another sure thing, would've been a friendly match between them before the sun set. They could've talked about their training, and how they got so strong long before the match began... He would've liked to know what she did during her training, if she plans on doing more of it, so she could be stronger than she is now, and why she was different from other girls... Oh, oh, oh, -Goku smiles as he remembers this- he would've asked her about her unknown method, the method she used to make him lose their last match. She's obviously not stronger than him, that he knows, but what she did back then was really impressive. It showed that she could use her mind instead of her strength to win, which is something any good martial artist should be aware of. He's moved through all parts of the world to gain his physical strength, but even he remembers how he has defeated opponents when he was at his most injured, and they were at their strongest. And then for a reversal, he lost to her at his strongest...

Ah, he fondly remembers, he _still_ likes that.

The losing part, no, he doesn't like so much, but he likes that he couldn't read her moves. And then that thing that she did to him... That was really, really, really nice. It had been ticklish too, but more nice than ticklish. Or, he probably just likes ticklish things, he doesn't really know. He doesn't have any other experience to compare it to, to know for sure that he likes the ticklish feeling. To find that out, he would have to spend time with her again. He bets that they would have all types of fun together, if not going over training strategies, they could do other things. Like maybe, he knows, the thing she did to him... He wouldn't mind her doing it again, even if he has to lose to her to get it.

He only has to see her again, which he will. Eventually, he guesses.

* * *

 **26Chapters**

* * *

His landing is measured perfectly, as Nimbus nudges him to jump off him, and into the inside of Korin's Tower. Not one toe loses balance as his feet plant on the stone floor of the Tower, neither as her rotates his heels a bit, to deliver a proper goodbye to his cloud friend, with a wave of his right hand. He only loses part of his balance, when Korin's raspy voice speaks his name from behind him, and he moves too quickly to find the face of his former mentor. Although Goku doesn't do anything to fall onto the floor, the close-to-losing-balance movement that he makes on his right foot, to keep himself somewhat upright, teases him with the idea of him falling to the ground. Doing the little dance to restore himself to proper balance, Goku laughs at himself until both of his feet find balance on the foundation.

'Hey Korin,' he greets, still mildly chuckling at himself. 'Hey Yajirobe.'

'Goku,' Yajirobe replies.

Yajirobe's voice is the same gruff of grumpiness it always has been, but then again, Goku has never heard Yajirobe sound any more or less than that. Even when he's eating, Yajirobe sounds the same. That's just who he is, Goku guesses. It doesn't matter anyway, about Yajirobe's voice, because Yajirobe is not his stop, Kami is.

'I'm just going to see Kami,' he tells them both.

'Goku...' Korin starts to laugh with a paw under his hairy chin, 'You're the only one I know who can say that, like it's not a big honour to see Kami.'

Come on, Korin's playing around, he thinks. He knows Kami, he can't think it's an honour to see Kami, when they have a good relationship. If it was like that, then it would be an honour to see everyone _else_ that he knows, and has a relationship with.

'Anyway, Goku,' Korin gets serious, 'congratulations on winning the Tournament.'

'Aww, thanks, Korin,' he sincerely accepts. 'Your training helped me get here. I wouldn't have won if I didn't have guidance from you.'

'No problem,' Korin waves away, 'but now that you've reached your goal of being the strongest in the world, what are you going to do?'

That's a good question. He doesn't feel like an adventure, and he doesn't immediately want to train, so maybe Kami can help him decide what he should do. He does know that at some time, he would like to train with Piccolo, so they could learn from each other, but more than that, he doesn't really know what he can do. He's not one to plan his life like that. He just goes where his feelings take him. Who knows, he might go back to his Grandpa's house for a few days, or he doesn't know... He'll figure it out after he speaks to Kami.

'I don't know, Korin. I'll see.'

'Hmm,' Korin purrs, but it really looks like he is thinking deeply about something.

With the way Korin is looking at him, Goku cannot convince himself that Korin has some type of help to give him on the subject of what to do. He would be grateful either way.

'What are you thinking, Korin?' he probes, silently hoping that he can get a push in any direction that he can follow.

'You ever think of settling down?' Korin asks him. 'Staying in one place?'

He does that, he thinks first before he can give Korin an answer. Always, if he got to a place that he liked, he would settle down. He's good at fitting in wherever he goes, so he doesn't think that he will ever have a problem with staying in one place, if that is what he wanted to do. Korin seems to be impatient to wait for his answer, though, because he asks for a response from him.

'Have you?'

Shrugging, mostly to show that it's not an important issue, Goku says, 'I don't have a problem with being as I am.'

'But were you not going to marry that girl?'

What does that have to do with anything? And anyway, he just doesn't want to talk about Chi-Chi with anyone. If he has to talk about Chi-Chi, it will have to be with Chi-Chi herself.

'Who, Chi-Chi?' he asks like there could be someone else Korin is referring to.

'Yes, her,' Korin nods. 'Marriage is not the life for you, I believe, Goku. You are too restless, and if I may give you some advice, spare Chi-Chi the trouble of trying to change you.'

'Chi-Chi's a fighter too,' he quickly responds. 'She'll definitely understand. I have to see Kami now, Korin. I'll see you again soon.'

After that, he moves quickly, going up the long pole that leads to Kami's, so as not to give Korin any time to respond to him. He respects Korin, and Korin can believe what he wants to believe, but he can't expect his thoughts to be same on the subject of Chi-Chi. He didn't give it much thought, to be honest, the idea of marriage to Chi-Chi, but he's always been good at blending in, so he wouldn't have had a problem with it.

In a matter of minutes, as he thinks and makes his way up to Kami's, he makes it to climbing over onto the white surface of Kami's Temple. It's no surprise to him that just as corrects his posture, he finds Mr. Popo waiting, looking as patient as always.

'Hey, Mr. Popo,' he happily waves to the man that he hasn't seen in a while.

'Oh, hallo, Goku,' the short man quietly welcomes. 'Did you come to visit?'

'I came to talk to Kami about training with Piccolo.'

That's not really all he came for, but he needs to give the man an answer, so that will have to do. It would've been nice to stay, visiting the Temple too, he thinks as the man who was once a teacher of his, gives him a look of surprise that would normally not be present on his face. He definitely should've just said that he came for a visit.

' _Piccolo_?'

'Yeah,' Goku confirms, feeling better now the he knows Mr. Popo's surprise isn't about his not-visit. 'Kami brought him here, didn't he?'

'Of course,' Mr. Popo nods, 'I'll show you to him.'

At once, with Mr. Popo leading, they begin to walk along the space of the Temple, making nearly no noise at all. First going through one door and then taking a small turn to the left, they find another door, and that is where they find Piccolo. Sitting cross-legged with his back towards the door, in the middle of the empty room, Goku instantly spots Piccolo once the door is opened. Since there is literally nothing else in the room with light blue paint on the walls, Piccolo is an easy and immediate target for an pair of eyes that opens the door.

'Get out!'

The deep command reaches Goku's ears at the door just fine. So fine, in fact, that Goku can suddenly understand why he has chosen the position of sitting with his back to the door. Whether or not he knows who opens the door -he probably doesn't care to know either- he still has no need for anyone's company but the empty room's.

Not sounding the least bit surprised about it, Mr. Popo says, 'He seems to not want company.'

'Get out now, Popo!' Piccolo's deep voice repeats. 'I will not tell you again.'

Goku finds Piccolo to be too dismissing without listening first. He can't be like that. He should at least listen to what he and Mr. Popo wants and then he can decide if he wants them to get out or not.

'Aw, don't be like that, Piccolo,' he tries to reason with his former opponent. 'I just wanna train with you, that's all.'

Much to Goku's glee, Piccolo rotates in his position, doing it slowly enough, for Goku to begin a little image projection of him toe to toe with Piccolo, in the middle of an intense training session. However, he realises that Piccolo only faces him, to apparently open one eye, and emphasise his need to be left alone.

' _Get out_!' he barks with just the one eye open.

It doesn't look like Piccolo will change his mind, Goku reads from his face and his now rotating movement again, taking him back to the position that he had been in when they opened the door.

'Fine,' he relents, accepting that Piccolo won't allow to be bothered anymore.

He'll let Piccolo be for now. He's already been on the rejection side today, so he'll be cautious to not keep pushing, only to be told no. Just like he let Chi-Chi be, he'll let Piccolo be. What he wants, will remain what he wants, and until he gets it, he will not stop, but for now, he will let it be. All that is left for him to do now, is speak to Kami. Thinking that way, he leaves Mr. Popo to shut the door, while he goes in whichever direction to look for Kami. It's in the middle of the corridor, where Kami meets him, almost as if Kami had been waiting for that moment.

'I am surprised to see you here, Goku. I thought you would be off with the girl by now.'

'Chi-Chi didn't want me with her,' he truthfully answers, there's no point in keeping it from Kami.

A small smile shows on Kami's face, which Goku wants to frown at, but he doesn't do. It's like Kami is smiling like that to shove it in his face that he told him so...

'I told you to let her be,' Kami says. 'It's better that way, in any case.'

No, Goku silently disagrees, hoping that his face doesn't show his rebelling, it's not better that way. If it was better that way, then he wouldn't have thought of Chi-Chi at all after she rejected him. But he has no intention of disagreeing with Kami on a topic that he is currently sensitive about. He will rather let Kami know his position and dismiss that conversation all in one sentence.

'I will see her again,' he plainly states, that way declaring his feelings and putting an end to talk about Chi-Chi.

'No matter,' Kami shrugs. 'I was anyway wondering, how about you start a new term of training?'

'Yeah, I wanna train with Piccolo, but he doesn't want me. Who else can I train with?'

He can't think of a single person in the world, anyone who entered the Tournament, who he can be really bothered to train with with the purpose of gaining a new height of strength. For fun and exercise, yeah, but nothing more than that.

'I have a place in mind,' Kami says, 'however, it will be nothing you have ever done before, Goku. It might be the most wondrous journey of your life yet. Are you prepared for it?'

Wondrous journey? That suddenly has him all excited. Kami would not suggest something with such promise, and it turns out not to be true. This wondrous journey must be something out of this world, he thinks. His excitement is so ignited, that he doesn't even consider that Kami might just be looking for an excuse to _permanently_ keep him away from Chi-Chi.

* * *

Chapter 11, **Keepsakes.**


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11, **Keepsakes.**

* * *

'What is it, Kami? Where will I be going?'

He has to know. He has to know. He just has to know. He's over the sky excited, which easily means that he could only allow so much of silence to happen between him and Kami, before the questions started coming out. Enough time has passed, and he just has to know what he will be doing.

'Have patience, Goku,' Kami says in his usual tone, it's only the small smile on his face that's not usual of him. 'You will find out soon.'

Fine, he'll find out soon, but he still wants to know. He just wants to know. It's not fair, Kami cannot just tell him something that exciting and then expect him to not do something about it. It's his place to be excited! The thing about himself that he knows too well, is that when he gets really, really excited, he starts to feel restless. He forgets what was, he forgets what was supposed to be, to solely focus on the possibilities that could be ahead of him.

A _wondrous_ journey, Kami said.

His mouth is just watering at the thought of such a thing as a wondrous journey. It sounds like something that he would really enjoy. It sounds like a promise to meet new friends, possibly finding really strong training partners, and just _so_ much fun. He could learn so much along the way, actually. That's what it sounds like to him, and he really likes it.

'Is it going to be fun?' he asks, feeling the pushing need to know. 'It's going to be fun, isn't it, Kami? Just tell me.'

He just has to know, at least just a little mental taste of what's going to happen. Sure, he'll take whatever comes, but he just wants to have some clue. Just like he is with food, whether it's super delicious or not, if he _can_ eat it, he will eat it, but it still remains better to know what he is going to have. Knowing a little taste of what is to come, always takes his excitement to new heights, and the higher the level of his excitement, the better his anticipation for it.

'Like I said, Goku,' Kami calmly tells him, 'it will be like nothing you have ever experienced before.'

Yes, yes, he got that. He understands that. He just wants to know a little bit, that's all. Why can't Kami understand that? In a way, Kami is starting to remind him of Chi-Chi refusing to listen to him, when he told her that he would really marry her. Chi-Chi may not know about him and his persistence, but Kami knows him, and there is no way that Kami believes that he will just let it go. That's just not him. He'll have to remind Kami, though, it seems.

'Okay, okay, I know, I know,' Goku nods his head in excitement. 'But will I get to go now?'

A sharp gasp immediately answers his question, surprising him and Kami at the same time. Although, as they both turn to look at the only other person who could be responsible for the noise, the culprit, Mr. Popo, speaks.

'Oh, Goku!' he sounds the name, making it sound like a sigh.

'What is the matter, Mr. Popo?' Kami asks what Goku is wondering.

'It' s only…' Mr. Popo begins, looking from Kami to Goku in equal parts of time. 'Goku, would you not like to eat first?'

' _Eat_?'

He's breathless even just asking that one word, because _that_? Only that, _really_? Mr. Popo is Mr. Popo, but… He made it feel like he'd scold Goku for being so pesky, but…

But fine, he could eat. He's not really, really, like really hungry. Not since he has the promise of an adventure waiting for him. But eat, he could definitely do.

 **26Chapters**

He was restless all through his meal.

He doesn't know, maybe it's because he feels like he's achieved all that he was able to achieve by beating Piccolo, and now there's suddenly the possibility of getting better than he already is, by challenging himself. That part makes him excited the most. Even when he ate Mr. Popo's food, he was restless like he used to be whenever his Grandpa promised him that they would do something fun together, but only if he ate all of his least favourite vegetables; he ate, partly for the reason that he had to eat, and mostly under the motivation of getting a reward.

Now he has finished his food, and there is nothing in the way of him getting to his journey now.

'I ate, Kami,' he announces while pushing his plate away. 'I'm ready to go now.'

Soon after doing that, he gets on his feet.

'I like your enthusiasm for this, Goku. It is far better for you to be excited about this. Or would you rather stay and get married as you wanted?'

What does getting married have to do with anything? It's not part of his journey, so Kami can't put it in the same category. That is like putting fighters who get eliminated in the preliminary round, in the final round for the title of champion; completely not attached to each other.

'I'm going,' he says, very determined to do as he has been hoping to do.

But I'm still going to get married, he says within himself, for Kami not to hear it. What matters is that he knows it, and Chi-Chi does too. Only the two of them matter concerning _that_ anyway, so meh, -he mentally blows a raspberry- Kami can think what he wants. What Kami thinks won't affect his decision to marry Chi-Chi in the end.

'That is good to hear,' Kami thoughtfully says, placing a gentle hand on Goku's shoulder. 'But what about the girl?'

Why can't Kami just call Chi-Chi by her name? It does not really irritate him that Kami keeps on not saying her name, but he would just prefer it if Chi-Chi's name is used. If she has a name, why can't it be used? Anyway, if Kami can't use Chi-Chi's name, his question is such an easy question, that he has to carelessly shrug as he answers.

'I'll see her when I get back.'

With a strange look on his face, Kami asks him, 'Are you sure about that? Would you not like to see your friends before you leave? Because there is something about this journey that will change you, Goku. You will make discoveries that might alter your perception of life.'

Confused for a little bit, Goku starts to wonder what Kami could mean by what he just said. There's also that strange look on his face, and then that Kami doesn't want to tell him anything about where he is going, so maybe there is something big that is to happen.

'Hmm?' Kami pushes for his response.

'I'm sure,' is his quiet reply. 'I want to go.'

'You don't sound so convinced anymore.'

He does want to go, it's only that Kami is being strange. It's like there is something that Kami is not telling him, and that is somehow pushing his excitement under.

'I want to go,' he maintains, keeping his eyes properly fixed on Kami.

'All right,' Kami nods, continuing with, 'You might want to take with you some reminders of things that make you think of home, though. Things that make you happy to keep. You are sure to need them where you are going.'

Like his power pole? Or his four-star Dragon Ball? Things like that?

He wants to ask Kami if that is what he means, but with the way that Kami is not really telling him anything, he doesn't want to ask a question that won't be answered properly. He'll just have to go without those things, he guesses.

'It's okay, I'll just go.'

'With no keepsakes? Are you sure, Goku?'

He's never heard that word before, and he can't be sure what it means, but even so, he will not say that he wants to go with keepsakes. Whatever those are, if he says he wants to go with them, his answer might just make Kami tell him something else that's unclear. He just wants to go already, which really means that he can't afford to hang around the Lookout anymore.

'I'm sure,' he firmly determines.

'All right, Goku,' Kami finally accepts. 'Step closer to me.'

Wasting no time, he steps close to the guardian, and right after that, Kami touches his forehead with the palm of his hand, causing a cold sensation to pass all over his body. From the sudden drop in temperature, his eyes close on their own, attempting to help his body in making it through the cold chill surrounding him. In the moment following his eyes closing, though, the sensation leaves him completely, along with the feel of Kami's palm on his forehead.

'Kami?' he softly tests for a response before he can open his eyes.

He doesn't want to think that something has changed because Kami made contact with him, if he doesn't have proof that something like that really did happen. What he guesses should happen, is that he should be away from the Lookout, and if Kami answers his call, it will mean that nothing important has really happened, to take him to the journey that Kami has been promising him. He just needs to make sure that Kami's not here before he opens his eyes.

No response reaches his ears, but he still waits for a little longer.

As a martial artist, he knows not to take the first response or no response as the actual thing. There is always the chance that the first impression is one faked to deceive the opponent. For that reason, he cannot fully accept that no answer from Kami means that something has changed; he will have to give it a little more time.

'Kami?' he calls for the second time, this time being the final test.

He will count to five and if Kami doesn't answer him, he will open his eyes to find out what that sensation meant, and why there is silence all around him.

 _One_ , he begins to count in his head.

Nothing.

 _Two_.

Still no sound.

 _Three_.

Kami's still not saying anything.

 _Four_.

More silence.

 _And five_ , that's the last of his counting. He'll open his eyes now.

The green of Kami's skin and the white of his robe that Goku had been waiting to see once he opened his eyes, are nowhere to be found. In fact, even the clean white surface and the spare trees on the Lookout are not within his line of sight. He looks around him, rotating only his head, not his body through the movement of his feet, to land his eyes on three people a distance from him.

Not Korin. Not Kami. And not Mr. Popo.

Those are at least the three that he would have expected to see once his eyes opened, but it's none of them. The three that his eyes are fixed on, are three different people, and all three of them are dressed in clothes that he has never seen before. Although, what he's interested in, is that they all have what looks like the tail that he had, wrapped around their middles. He knows that it could just be part of their clothes, a belt or sash of some kind, but the furry appearing texture of the things around their middle, so looks like how his own tail used to look like.

'They have tails?' he asks himself, small bubbles of happiness starting to rise within him.

He's never seen people with tails before. He's seen different people, of different; colours, orange, green, black, blue, white, purple, and so many others, but he's never seen full people, who are not half animal, have tails before.

He wonders who they are.

* * *

Chapter 12, **Losing** **My Mind.**


End file.
